The Cataclysmic Emerald
by Phantom86
Summary: Centuries ago, an evil force was locked away, in hopes that it would never be released again. But soon, Sonic and his friends will discover that they'll become more involved than they ever imagined... FINALLY COMPLETE!
1. Shadow's Discovery

-Note: I do not own any of the Sonic characters or anything in Sega or Archie comics. All I own is a character that may appear in a future chapter. I'll only continue the story if I get enough reviews from you readers. So, R&R please…

Journal Log Entry: August 6th

It's been two years since the accident of the spontaneous combustion of the Floating Island's Master Emerald. I'm still surprised by the result. Many have believed that the released energy would create global destruction of Mobius, but it appears we were all wrong…

Instead, every zone that had been discovered on Mobius, were reformed as a new planet. Collision Chaos, Labyrinth, Emerald Hill, Stardust Speedway, all the zones were gone from Mobius forever. This strange new world needed a name however. The Mobius leaders thus dubbed it: Mobius Z. They found the name catchy. 

Ever since then, people all over the globe have been searching for any zone that may have remained on it's home world. However, all my known acquaintances have ended up empty handed. That is, except for me…

Journal Log Entry: August 15th

I, Shadow the Hedgehog, have recently discovered a cavern, that appears to have been empty for decades. Maybe even longer. Although this tunnel seems untouched for ages, I can see that I'm not the first one to have entered this place. 

The walls of this tunnel are covered with ancient markings, which seem to resemble an outdated language. Pictorial hieroglyphs surround the cavern walls as well. Although I cannot understand this language, the hieroglyphs seem to tell of a battle, or struggle that that occurred many years ago…

Shadow closed his mini-sized log book, and tucked it under his left wristband. He began to trek deeper into the cavern, wondering what else he would be able to discover. The farther he went underground, the darker the path became. Soon there was no more light, but this didn't discourage Shadow. "Oh well, I prefer the dark anyway. Why else would I be named who I am?" 

A few moments later, Shadow paused. "I sense…some strange energy…" he mumbled to himself. He continued to walk, and stopped again five minutes later. "I feel it again… It's stronger this time" Shadow took ten more steps, and felt the unknown force again. "Someone, or something, is down there, somewhere…"

Shadow continued his trek, continuously making his way deeper and deeper into the subterranean levels of Mobius' underground. He never stopped, and didn't plan to until he found the source of what he had been sensing. It wasn't until twenty minutes later that he paused again. This time, he didn't stop because of what he felt, but because of what he saw. He turned the next corner, and couldn't believe his eyes! He had reached the end of the tunnel! And sitting right in front of him was what appeared to be, an ancient stone alter. What amazed him still, was the fact that the alter, was glowing! It shined with what looked like a glow of seven colors. "I better get a closer look at this." he said to himself.

The alter seemed to also be covered with markings and hieroglyphs as well. "Just like what I saw earlier…" thought Shadow. What caught his eye next, was something sticking out of the alter's right side. A small circle shaped piece of stone, with more markings upon it. "Is this a dial, or something?" Shadow wondered. " Might as well see." Shadow move his hand close enough until his fingers just about touched the dial. And with a small push, the dial made a sudden 'CLICK'.

Shadow jumped back, and he watched as the top of the alter came loose, like a lid of a case. "I see now…" Shadow realized, "…It's a container. But, why would an ancient container have a lock?" Shadow's curiosity got the better of him. He grabbed hold of the lid, and pulled it off the top. And was suddenly blinded by a great ray of light! "ACK! MY EYES! WHAT'S GOING ON?" He dropped the stone lid, and stumbled backward.

Soon, Shadow was able to see again. The bright light had dimmed down finally. "Alright. Let's see what's inside.." Shadow peered inside, and was once again amazed at what was inside. A large gemstone was sitting in the alter, shinning in the same seven colors he saw before. At first, Shadow was speechless. His mouth hung open, but no words came out. He felt almost hypnotized by it's light, and soon, he picked up the gem. "It almost looks like a Chaos Emerald, except a lot brighter. But why was it locked up?"

What happened next? Shadow couldn't say. Maybe it was his imagination, but as he stared closer at the gem, a dark shadow suddenly surrounded it! Shadow was now more shocked than amazed. His eyes widened, and he started to sweat. He gazed closer, and saw an eye staring back at him! Shadow fell back, and lost his grip. The gem flew in the air, and shattered as it hit the solid stone ground!

At that moment, Shadow felt something he hadn't for a long time: FEAR. The bright, shinning light vanished, and was replaced by a dark, sinister presence. "I've never felt this energy before!" Shadow shouted. Then he thought he had gone mad! Shadow started to hear voices coming from the darkness. Evil cackling and laughter filled the cavern! The darkness in front of him began to grow, and so did the evil laughter. Shadow wanted to get away, but was much to frightened to move. And as the darkness crept towards Shadow, he let out a blood curdling scream that echoed throughout the tunnel! "YAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHH!"

No one had heard him, and no one else saw what happened then, but when the darkness finally cleared, Shadow was gone…

R&R if you want to read more. Thanks. 


	2. Where'd everybody go?

Thanks for the reviews, people. Reminder: I don't own any of the characters, except for Necronos (now you the guy's name). And now, Chapter 2: 

Quite different from where I left off, it was a beautiful day all over planet Mobius. The sun was at it's highest point in the sky at the stroke of noon. There was hardly a cloud in the sky. And the flickies out were chirping happily. At this moment, many of Mobius' regular celebrities were out having fun and enjoying themselves, on what would appear to be a chaotic-free day.

Sonic was doing his usual running across the globe, never stopping until either he wanted to sleep, or find the nearest chili dog stand (he can't live without them y'know). As always, Tails was following closely behind, never losing sight of his life long buddy. "You may be the world's fastest runner, Sonic. But how would you like a race against the world's fastest flyer?!" "You're on, Tails! Just don't fall too far behind! YEE-HA!"

The always energetic Amy Rose was busy practicing her fortune telling. She bought a new deck of Tarot cards and couldn't wait to try them out. "Sonic, you will be mine, even if I have to use magic to do it!" Hey! Everybody needs a hobby.

Knuckles, who now had no reason to guard the Master Emerald, after it blew up, finally had some time to spend with his favorite girl, Julie-Su. The two lovebirds finally had more time for each other again. "Let's make this a day to remember, Julie." "Oh, you can count on that, Knucks!" But it wouldn't be until later that evening that everyone's day of relaxation would come to an abrupt end…

Sonic and Tails had finally stopped racing across the planet for today, and were about to enjoy a BIG dinner at Sonic's apartment, in the heart of what was now Knothole City. "Sonic?" Tails asked, "Are you really going to eat all FIVE of those chili dogs?!" "Those are just the appetizers little buddy." he answered. "Just wait until I begin the main course!" Sonic then sat down on his living room sofa. "So bud, do you have the movie ready yet?" "You bet!" Tails replied, "Swatbot Cop 2! Digitally remastered, director's cut, alternate ending, the works!" "Sweet, bro! Fire it up!" But just as Tails hit 'play', and just as Sonic was about to take the first bite on his first dog, a blinding flash of light filled the room, and before either of them could react, electric bolts surrounded them with a loud ZZZZZZZZZZAAAAAAAAAAPPP!!!! When the bolts cleared, they were gone…

Meanwhile, Amy was at her apartment further downtown, practicing with her new Tarot cards. "I'll bet if I play my cards right, literally, their magical forces will make Sonic mine forever! Then she sighed with hope in her heart. "Oh, Sonic. You'll be mine someday…" The deck was ready. Amy picked up the first three cards on top of the deck, and laid them face down in front of her. Her left hand went towards the left face down card. "I feel a strong attraction to this one first…" She flipped it face up, and saw an image of a young maiden girl, surrounded by many individuals. "Hmm…It appears I'll be meeting up with my friends sometime soon." She then flipped up the right face down card. The image was what looked like a ghost, or spiritual apparition. "Hey, I'll be involved in something with the supernatural soon too. Man, this is so cool!" Amy couldn't help but feel excited for what awaited her under the middle card. "Oh boy. I'll bet this card will help make Sonic mine forever!" Her cheeks grew bright red as she blushed with excitement. "Well, here I go…" But just as she was about to, ZZZZZZZZZZAAAAAAAAAAPPP!!!! Amy had disappeared, too…

It was dusk at the Floating Island. High above, on the skyline of Echidnaopolis, Knuckles and Julie-Su were watching the sun starting to set, on top of the tallest building in the city. Julie-Su finally spoke. "Knuckles?" "Yes, Julie?" It's been kind of a weird day, hasn't it?" Knuckles seemed perplexed. "What do you mean? It's been perfect for us all day." "That's what I mean!" she answered, "It's been peaceful all day! No mad tyrant was around causing trouble or trying to take over the world, today. With people like you and Sonic, that's practically impossible." Now Knuckles couldn't help but laugh. "Heh, heh, heh. But look at what today has brought us, darlin'." Knuckles began reminiscing: "We had a nice walk through the central park. We enjoyed a fancy lunch at Bistro. You helped me beat all of Vector's high scores at the arcade center. And now we get to share a beautiful sunset together." Julie-Su sighed, "You're right. This day was perfect. It just seemed almost to good to be true I guess." The two began to slowly place their lips together…when, ZZZZZZZZZZAAAAAAAAAAPPP!!!! Julie-Su opened her eyes. "Knuckles? Knuckles? Where did you go? KNUCKLES?!!

In another location, far from civilization, someone was waiting in what was almost deserted area. Deep underground, in what used to be an undiscovered cavern, a man was standing close by a familiar looking container, at the caverns end. The figure wore a dark, black cloak, and only his glowing blue eyes were visible, within the darkness of his hood. One could mistaken him for a Dark Legionnaire at first glance. He had surrounded the ancient container with twenty candlesticks, with the wax slowly melting to the ground. He appeared to be in a meditating pose. He barely moved, for it looked like he had been in a trance for hours.

A small gust of wind entered the room, and blew out seven of the candles surrounding him. His glowing blue eyes slowly opened as he finally spoke, "They're coming…"

Hope you enjoyed chapter 2. Just wait until next time… R&R please.


	3. The Dark Legend

Reminder: I own no characters except for Necronos, and sorry for the few typos last chapter. Anyway, here's Chapter 3:

The cloaked figure finally began to move. He positioned himself right in front of the ancient container. He remained motionless for a few seconds, until he spoke once again. "They're here…"

ZZZZZZZZZZAAAAAAAAAAPPP! And with a sudden flash, Sonic and Tails appeared right before him! Then, fell to the ground. THUD! "OWWW-THATHURT!" Sonic screamed as he landed. Sonic and Tails slowly opened their eyes, and couldn't believe where they were. "Uh, Sonic?" Tails asked nervously, "Correct me if I'm wrong, but weren't we just in your living room?" "Yeah, exactly! We were about to watch the movie, and!" Sonic stared at his empty hand. "WHERE'S MY CHILI DOG! I JUST HAD IT! NOOOOOOOOO! IT'S GOOOONE! I NEVER GOT TO TASTE MY SPECIAL SAUCE!" Tails finally spoke again. "Uh, Sonic? As much as I'd like to join you in mourning, we're not alone in here." "Say wha?" Sonic and Tails finally noticed the cloaked man standing before them. All they could see within his hood were his glowing blue eyes staring straight at them.

"Greetings. I've been expecting you." "Now Sonic was focused. "Alright Mr…..Mysteryman. Who are you, and why are we here?" "Mr. Mysteryman?" Tails whispered. "It's all I could think of, give me a break." The man raised his hand, in a 'halt' motion. "Patience, young one. We must wait for the others to arrive, first." Tails looked confused. "What others?" "Observe…" he replied. Two more bright flashes filled the room! And by the time they cleared, two more figures took their place. Sonic recognized them immediately. "Knuckles! Amy!" Amy looked dizzy. "Ooooooh…that felt to weird for me…" Then she turned her head. "Wha-SONIC! Yaaaaaaaay!" Before Sonic could react, Amy had already grabbed hold of him in a tight hug. "Oh, Sonic. I knew that last Tarot card would bring us together, I just knew it! Please say that you're happy to see me for once! Please!" Sonic could barely speak. "Uh, Amy?" Tails interrupted, "He probably would, if you weren't squeezing him to tight…" "Huh? Oops!" Amy finally let go, allowing Sonic to get some air. "GASP…Amy, if I say I'm happy to see you, would you please not hold me THAT tightly again. I wouldn't want to suffocate in your arms, y'know." Amy blushed in embarrassment. "Heh, heh, sorry"

Tails then looked towards Knuckles. "Hey Knucks! Why are you here, too?" "How should I know!" he said angrily, "I was just about to finish the best date me and Julie-Su had ever been on, and I'm suddenly zapped to this creepy place." Amy finally got herself together. "Hey, yeah! You, the guy in the robe. What's going on?" The man stepped down towards them. "Patience, miss. All will be answered soon enough…" Sonic began to look annoyed. "Again with the patience talk, pal? Don't you know patients are for hospitals?" Knuckles sweat dropped, looking embarrassed. "Nice comeback, Sonic." Tails felt the same way. "Really, who invented puns, anyway." "Oh come on, guys" Sonic replied, "That was a good one." Just then, another flash appeared and vanished, with another figure in it's place.

Knuckles recognized who it was as soon as the light around her faded. "Rouge! What are YOU doing here!" he shouted in anger. Rouge tuned around. "Oh, it's you. To what do I own this sudden reunion? And why am I not still in the Quartz Quadrant Zone?" That last statement got Sonic's attention. "Waitaminute! You were in a Zone! But you'd have to be on Mobius Z to be in a Zone!" Rouge didn't look surprised. "Exactly. I had finally gotten my hands on a mini-shuttle rocket from Station Square's military, allowing me to get to Mobius Z. I was in the middle of collecting the biggest haul of gemstones I've ever swiped in Quartz Quadrant, but now I'm here with, you people." "Hey, don't blame us!" Knuckles replied defensively. "It's that dark weirdo that pulled us all here." Before anyone could speak again, two more flashes filled the cavern room, and left two more figures. (Note: these are the LAST two to arrive. About time, eh?)

Everyone looked to see the last two to appear. "Vector, and Espio!" Espio took a look at his new surroundings. "Well, this is new…" "Tell me about it!" Vector replied. "Weren't we just in the arcade?" Vector then spotted Knuckles standing among the crowd. "HEY YOU! What's the big idea beating all my high scores?" Vector ran up and gave Knuckles a cold stare. "It took me forever to get those scores on all the games! Now, it'll take me forever to get them back again, all because of you and your girlfriend!" Sonic seemed a little annoyed. "Calm down, Vec! They're just games, sheesh." Then Amy butted in. "Oh really Sonic? You didn't take it so well when I beat YOUR high score in 'Columns'" Now Sonic was angry. "Hey, that score took me at least TWO HOURS non-stop to get!" "SHUUUUUUUUT UUUUUUUUUUUP!"

Everyone stopped arguing, and looked at Tails. "That's enough, you guys. If I recall correctly, I believe the seven of us would like an explanation as to WHY we all are here in the first place." Everyone finally remembered, and focused their attention back at the mysterious spectre still standing before them. "Finally. I was wondering when you all would stop bickering." At this point, Sonic was finally more calm. "Okay, now that you have our attention, would you PLEASE tell us what's going on?" The dark man finally felt ready. "I'd be glad to. First of all, allow me to introduce myself. My name is Necronos. I am a master of sorcery and purity magic. I used my powers to teleport you all here into this cavern. Sonic, Tails, Knuckles, Amy, Rouge, Vector, and Espio. What I'm about to tell you now doesn't just involve all of you, but also about what used to be in this container behind me. And what happened long before your existence." "Ooooooh, now I'm interested." Knuckles said. The spectre spoke again. "I know you all have faced many great villains and evil forces that have put your world in danger time and time again. But what you may face soon, is much more evil, and more powerful than you can ever imagine." He paused for a moment. "The legend behind it is all that is known about it." Sonic was curious, now. "Well, I'm sure we'd all like to hear it, right guys?" Everyone nodded 'yes'. "Very well…" he answered.

"6000 years ago, in a time when peace was present all over Mobius, a terrible and destructive demon known as Catalyst, was born from darkness by a group of evil warlocks who dedicated their lives to the study of the Dark Arts. The warlocks created him in hopes that they could use him to take over the entire world. But Catalyst obeyed no orders but his own. And one by one, he destroyed the warlocks with his powers of darkness, and absorbed all their magical powers. With his new control over dark magic, he began his reign of terror upon the inhabitants of Mobius. His evil spread across the planet like wildfire. With the magic he accumulated from the warlocks, he could make it so he could control reality itself. Not one area of Mobius was safe from his rapidly growing conquest. The world was on the brink of apocalypse."

"Hey buddy! This is becoming too depressing for me!" Amy interrupted. "Oh, be quiet." Rouge said back. "You're always so sensitive." "Hey! Watch it, sister. If I feel uncomfortable, I have a right to say so!" "Girls, PLEASE!" Sonic shouted. The two stopped arguing. "Sorry, Necronos. Please continue." Sonic said. Vector spoke up. "Yeah. I'm in suspense!" "Right then…" Necronos replied.

"One day, on what could've been the eve of destruction, a wizard appeared from nowhere, and challenged Catalyst. The two fought a battle that seemed it would have no end, for not one of them had a full advantage against the other. It was a prime example of light verses darkness. But as the battle raged on, the wizard began to succumb to his lack of being able to hold his strength. Unfortunately, Catalyst's power continued to grow, and soon would be unstoppable. However, the wizard had one last resort. He summoned whatever strength he had left in his heavily weakened body, and casted a submission spell. The spell caused Catalyst split apart, into seven smaller, weaker entities."

"Now hold up!" Espio interrupted. "Your saying this big evil dude changed from one to seven? How the heck does THAT help?" "Ugh. Am I EVER going to finish this story" Necronos said to himself. "Let him finish." said Tails. "Thank you" Necronos replied. "Although Catalyst split into seven spiritual forms, his defeat became much more guaranteed." "How so?" Amy asked curiously. "What happened to him?"

"The wizards seven apprentices, young warriors like yourselves, rose up against the seven spirits to avenge their fallen master. Using each of their unique magical powers combined as one, the spirits were defeated one by one. To make sure their reign of darkness would never plague Mobius again, the young warriors used one final spell, and sealed the spirits away in a large gemstone, which they had dubbed, The Cataclysmic Emerald. And they locked the emerald in this container behind me, where it has remained, for 6000 years." Necronos paused for a moment. "But now as you can see, the container has been accidentally discovered and opened. Whoever uncovered it and found the emerald has most likely shattered it, and the seven spirits have been set free upon Mobius once again…"

For a moment, everyone was speechless. Until Vector spoke up. "So, what do these spirits have to do with all of us?" "Isn't it obvious, Vec?" Espio asked. "I'll spell it out for you," Necronos said. "You all are destined to search for the spirits, and defeat them just as the ancient ones did long ago." "Say WHAT!" Amy shouted at the top of her lungs. Sonic looked surprised. "Whoa. Your serious about that?" Before he could say anymore, Amy had grabbed hold of him in a tight squeeze again. "AAAAAHHH, Sonic! Please don't let this guy make me fight! You know I'm no good when it comes to ghosts and things. I'm too sensitive!" Rouge couldn't help but laugh. "So, you're actually admitting it this time." "Hey, wait a second!" Knuckles finally spoke. "How do you know we're 'destined' as you say, to fight these ghostly guys, anyway?" "Hey, yeah. I'm sure we'd all like to know that!" Sonic agreed. Necronos then made a few wavy gestures with his hands, and right before everyone's eyes, a stone tablet appeared in front of them from nowhere! "This is an ancient mural showing what the wizard's seven apprentices looked like." Everyone moved close together to look, and couldn't believe what they saw.

"They-they look just like all of us!" Tails said in amazement. "Yeah, only with a flashier wardrobe and some cool looking armor." Espio noticed. "Wow. I look so cute!" Amy observed. "But… but how is this so?" Sonic wondered. "I believe," Necronos explained, "that it is possible that you all WERE the magical warriors, in past lives." "Whoa, now that's far out!" Sonic and Knuckles said in unison. "If this is so," Necronos continued, "then it is highly possible for me to bestow upon all of you, the same magical powers that the ancient warriors once possessed, giving you the strength needed to stand up against the spirits, before they try to conquer the world again. What say, you all?"

Sonic stood silent for a moment. This was all probably too much of a shock for him and the others. But eventually, he spoke. "Whatever it takes to save the world, I'll do it! I'm in, Necronos!" Sonic then glanced at Tails. "OK! I'm with ya, Sonic!" "If they're in, I'm in!" answered Amy. "Well, I need some kind of excuse to tell Julie-Su" Knuckles realized. "Count me in, too!" "Why not?" said Rouge. "I was looking for some excitement anyway!" Sonic looked behind him. "Vector? Espio?" "Well, we've got nothing better to do." Espio answered. "Yeah! I'll go with it!" Vector agreed. Sonic stepped forward. "Then it's settled. Those creeps won't stand a chance against all of us! Am I right?" "RIGHT!" everyone shouted. "Thank you." Necornos said. "With your help, the ancient warriors will finally be reunited, and the darkness that once covered this world shall be banished once again."

Until next time, readers! R&R please. 


	4. Rebirth, and Quest's Beginning

Thanks for the multiple reviews, Crayn The Echidna, and Knux Girl. As usual, the only characters I own are Necronos, the warriors, and the spirits. Now, on with Chapter 4:

Sonic and his friends stood before Necronos, who was getting ready to transform them all into the magical warriors they once were, in their past lives. Necronos stepped forward. "Everyone. Please stand together. I need you to pay attention, or else the transformations won't work." Sonic looked more focused than ever before. "We're all ears, Necronos. Just say the word." Everyone nodded in agreement. "Alright. Hold your arms out horizontally, and close your eyes." Everyone did as they were told. Necronos positioned his hands towards the gang. "Now concentrate…" Necronos began to surround himself with a shining blue light. "Open your hearts…wider" Soon, everyone else were also surrounded by the same light. "It's working…Keep it up everyone! It's almost complete!" The light grew brighter, until the whole cavern glowed as if it was bathed in sunlight. Necronos then shot his hands into the air. "ANCIENT SPIRITS, UNITE!" Then, the gang was shining in an aurora of multiple colors! But they remained still, eyes still closed. Slowly, the light faded until it was gone, and the cavern grew dark again, with only the candles' light keeping the room lit. "It's done." Necronos said.

Sonic and the others opened their eyes. "Whoa. Guys, check it out!" Sonic said in excitement. They all took a look at their new selves. They each had their own personal costume or armor. "Now this is way cool!" Tails said. "Not bad. Not bad at all." agreed Espio. Everyone couldn't help but admire how amazing they looked together, feeling so, empowered. Necronos walked towards them, preparing to finish what he had started.

He stopped in front of Espio, who was now wearing metal gloves, and clothed in a violet colored, ninja-like outfit, with his eyes and horn visible. "Espio. You are Tomias, the master of ninjitsu. With your combined strengths of magic and stealth, you can change one of your symbolic shurikens into ten, merely by thought." "Sweet." Espio- er, Tomias answered.

Then Necronos stepped in front of Rouge. She wore a lavender scarf, and a silver, tiara-shaped headband. She was dressed in a dark purple gown, from here chest, down to here ankles, with matching sparkling elbow length gloves. She held what appeared to be a wand. "Rouge. Mystical, agile. You are now Celestia the enchantress. With your vast knowledge of incantations and charm spells, you're practically untouchable when in combat." Then Rouge smiled, feeling satisfied.

He now stood before Amy. She wore- well, lets say she was dressed like a Dark Magician Girl (y'know, from Yu-Gi-Oh), with a deck of cards in her left hand. "Amy. Full of energy and life. You are Saiuka, the magician. With your deck of magical cards containing spells for healing and fighting, you have the perfect arsenal." "And I look, SOOOOOO CUUUUUTE!" she answered happily.

Vector was next. He wore a suit of bronze medieval armor, bearing gemstones of all colors upon it. He held a broad, heavy sword in his right hand. "Vector. Powerful, brave. You are Jurik the knight. With your magic sword you can convert your inner strength into pure energy, and created impenetrable force fields." "Now THAT, I'm gonna enjoy. Thanks, Necronos."

It was Knuckles turn. He wore a dark, black cloak that reached the ground, with a metal hood concealing his face. "Knuckles. You are Darconda the druid. Mysterious master of every martial art known in history. Using the light of the moon, you can fuel yourself with negative energy powerful enough to match that of the forces of darkness." "Cool. I look just like my grandfather Spectre." he notice.

Tails was covered in a awesome assortment of armor. A spiked, steel headband, metal plated arm and leg guards, a metallic green colored chest plate, and a staff with a curved blade at the end. "Tails. You are Horu-san, warrior of the sky. Since your specialty is air combat, your armor doubles as retractable weapons." "Wow, and no plane for once!" 

Finally, Necronos stood before Sonic, wearing a blue helmet with a spear-like spike pointing upward. He also wore metal gloves like Espio's, and the same metal chest plate as Tails, only red colored, with spikes growing out of the back. His shoes were a shining platinum, and he held a tall, golden triton lance. "And Sonic. The wizard's greatest apprentice. You are Tritaneon, the five star centurion, and leader of your team. Your powers are so great it would take forever to describe them. But worry not, for you will soon discover them for yourself." Necronos stepped back. "Finally. The ancient warriors are born, AGAIN!" "YEEEAAAAAAAAHHH!" everyone shouted!

Necronos turned serious again. "Now everyone. This quest you're about to begin will most likely be a long one. If any of you have anything that you must do before you set off, do so now!" "Oh. Hold that thought!" shouted Amy. She reached into her outfit's pocket, and noticed her cell phone was still with her! She dialed her apartment's number. "This should only take a second, Necro." Far away, at her apartment in the city, Cream heard the phone ringing. (Cream lives with Amy in her apartment). She answered it. "Hello? Amy and Cream's residence." "My, how formal of you." "Amy? Is that you?" Yep! It's me, Cream. Listen, me and the gang are going on a little trip that may take a while. You can have Charmy stay with you while were gone. Just be sure to take care of yourselves, OK?" "OK. Gotcha, Amy. Thanks for telling me." "OK, bye!" The girls hung up. "Let me get this straight…" Knuckles wondered. "You're letting two six-year-olds take care of themselves in your apartment? All alone with no one to look after them?" "C'mon, Knux. Did you forget that they helped us when we fought Metal Overlord? I think they can handle living by themselves for a few days." "Hmm…Good point." he agreed.

"OK then," Sonic began. "It looks like we're all set, Necro. So lets teach those spirits a lesson they'll never forget!" Suddenly, a deep, booming voice filled the cavern room. "You're not going anywhere!" Everyone was startled. "Who-who said that!" Tails said nervously. Sonic turned around, and saw a black figure standing 15 feet behind them, with large, upward pointed quills, with red streaks on top of them. "SHADOW!" he shouted. Everyone turned around and spotted him. "What are you doing here?" Shadow seemed to be full of rage. "I'm here to stop you from starting you little quest!" "What?" Rouge questioned. "What are you talking about?" Shadow's enraged expression didn't change. Suddenly, his eyes started to glow bright red! "My masters wouldn't like having the ancient warriors ruin their plans to plunge your worlds into darkness!" Vector began to approach Shadow. "Hey, who's side are you one anyway, bub?" "VECTOR, GET BACK!" Necronos shouted. "Your friend here must have been the one who shattered the emerald setting the spirits free! He's now under their control by their dark magic!" Shadow began to lunge forward. "I'll make sure none of you leave this cave ALIVE!"

Everyone cleared the way as Shadow dashed past them. But he quickly turned around. Knuckles saw his coming close. "Everyone! Get!" WHAM! Shadow tackled him right in the chest. Knuckles fell to the ground with a THUD! "Ooooh. That hurt…!" "KNUX!" Sonic shouted. But before he could react, Shadow grabbed his arm! "Take this, Spike-head!" And Shadow threw Sonic right into the wall! WHAM! "Ooooh, my aching…" Then Shadow did a combo attack: He tackled Espio when he wasn't looking, "UUGGH!" grabbed a hold of his body, and hurled him straight at the rest still standing!" WHAAAMM! Everyone was down. "HAH! Now to finish you off!" Shadow said menacingly, eyes still glowing like fire. "Not yet!" said a voice. "Huh? Who's there?" Shadow said confusingly. He looked up. Tails was hovering above him!

"HAH! You think you stand a chance against ME, SQUIRT!" Shadow said while laughing evilly. But what he saw next, actually surprised him. Tails was beginning the glow himself! His body was surrounded by an orange colored energy aura. And, his voice was filled with anger. "Dark one tainted by evil! Prepare to be healed by the powers of light!" Necronos starred in amazement. "Horu-san. He has returned!" Tails removed his spiked head band. "BOOMERANG BLADE!" He hurled it straight at Shadow, as it began to spin rapidly, like a saw blade! Shadow wouldn't be able to avoid it at the rate it was approaching him. "Oh crud." he whispered. And the blade made contact! BAAAMM! Shadow fell to the ground, unconscious.

Soon everyone was back on their feet. Sonic was amazed at what he and the others just witnessed. "Way to go, little buddy! I can't believe you took down Shadow in one blow!" "Yeah. You really whooped him!" Espio agreed. "Actually," Tails began, "I don't know what came over me. Just seeing you guys getting beat up by him, made me so angry that-that-" "-that your ancient powers returned to you." Necronos finished. Everyone glanced towards him. "Your powers are dormant now. But when you believe that the time is right, you shall awaken the strength needed to defeat the seven spirits." Just then, Sonic noticed Amy standing by Shadow, who was still unconscious. "What are ya doin', Amy?" She was searching through her deck of cards. "Hang on a second…" She found a card that had a picture of a potion, with an incantation written on it in the same ancient language written on the cave walls. "Watch this, guys." She closed her eyes to focus. "EVIL'S ANTIDOTE!" Just then, a dark Shadow came out of Shadow's body, and flew way, out of the tunnel! "There," she said to everyone. "The evil hold the spirits had on him, has been removed!" "Well done, Saiuka." Necronos said to her.

But then, "AAAGGHH!" Rouge dropped down on her knees, with her hands grabbing her head. "Rouge! What's wrong?" Vector shouted. Her eyes were shut. "I-I don't know. I see…images in my head! They won't go away! Why won't the go away!" She was struggling. "Rouge! Calm down!" Necronos grabbed a hold of her. "It's one of Celestia's powers: to see danger in other locations. Now focus…What is going on? What do you see?" Rouge began to calm down. "I…I see, Station Square…It's, deteriorating!" Everyone 'GASPED' in unison. "The buildings are rusting rapidly, and the people are panicking in the streets!" Espio looked worried. "I bet this counts as a bad omen." "Gee, ya think!" Vector answered sarcastically. "Wait! I see…Knothole City, too. The trees…their drying up! The crops are dying, and so is the rest of the forest!" Sonic stood in shock. "No……"

Necronos spoke up. "Oh, no! It's worse than I feared. It wasn't supposed to happen this quickly!" "What! What's going on!" Sonic demanded. "Necronos gathered his thoughts and began to explain. "When the spirits are free, their negative energy can spread out across the globe if they have been out for at least one day. As long as they remain outside the shattered Cataclysmic Emerald, the planet will eventually be easily conquered, unless you find them and defeat them as soon as possible!" "Well, what are we waiting for?" said Amy excitedly. "Yeah, Necro! Where can we find the spirits, already?" Tails asked. Necronos explained. "When Catalyst became powerful enough to practically control reality itself, like I told you in the legend, his powers became much stronger as long as he was in an area that exists in it's own reality. Sound familiar?" Everyone thought for a moment. Then it became clear. "The Zones!……MOBIUS Z!" "RIGHT!" Necronos shouted. The spirits have most likely taken refuge there, to enhance their powers until they become invincible!" "But, how will we even get there?" Knuckles wondered. "Stand back, everyone!" Necronos ordered. He began to pose his hands into patterns, and shouted and incantation: "RYN-SU-KAI-CHEN-NI-YO-HAAAAAAAA!" He held his hands out in front of him, as a burst of light and energy filled the room!

When the light grew dimmer, everyone looked to see what he had done. Before them, stood a shining vortex portal! "Listen up, everyone. When you enter this void, you will be transported to the first Zone that formed on Mobius Z: The Green Hill Zone! Once there, you will have to search for the spirits, and defeat them all." Everyone looked ready. "However, I'm afraid you'll have to handle this mission without me." Now everyone looked disappointed. "You-you're not coming with us, Necro?" Amy asked sadly. "Believe me, everyone. I would if I could. But only you seven are destined to face the spirits. I must stay here, and try to protect this planet's inhabitants from anymore destruction that may occur from the spirits' negative energy." "We understand." said Tails, although disappointment was heard in his voice.

"Well then," Necronos began. "Is everyone ready?" "YEAH!" everyone shouted. Except Sonic. A strong worried expression masked his face. "Sonic?" Amy asked with concern. "Sonic, what's wrong?" "I was just lost in thought…" he admitted. "No matter was big evil force we take down, another more powerful one takes it's place. Why? Can't Mobius just stay at peace forever!" A small tear formed under his eye. Necronos stood next to him. "Sonic. I can understand your disappointment. Many people wish peace was everlasting. But you must remember, with every Yin, there is a Yang." "What?" Sonic looked up towards him. "What I mean is, the universe is balanced with the powers of light and darkness. One can never outweigh the other, otherwise, the balance is thrown off. Just as you said: With every great evil you defeat, another takes it's place. But the same goes for the forces of good!" Everyone soon realized what he meant. "That's right!" Knuckles began. "Just like the wizard who faced Catalyst! When he had fallen in battle, his apprentices took HIS place!" "Now it makes sense!" Tails realized. Sonic finally stood up. "Thank you, Necro. I believe I'm ready now." "Just what I wanted to hear, my friend."

The team stood together in front of the portal. "Everyone ready?" Sonic asked. But he already knew the answer. "YEAH!" they all shouted. "THEN LET'S DO IT TO IT!" And the all jumped in together. One they were inside, they all took one last look at their new friend biding them farewell. "GOOD LUCK, EVERYONE!" he called out to them. "Next stop: The Green Hill Zone" Sonic thought to himself. "And, the beginning of once again, saving the world!"

Song sequence (as the gang travel through the portal):

We stand, hang our heads disbelieving,  
then not knowing how could such a thing be wrong.  
We wonder just what they must be thinking,  
to take a life of one so young.

So tell me, when will it be over now, how soon?  
How far must they go to prove to you?

We wait and we wonder how this happened,  
killing the old, the innocent, the young.  
While sons follow in father's footsteps not understanding,  
that what they do could somehow be so wrong.

So tell me, when will it be over now, how soon?  
How far must they go to prove to you?

So we will wait and we'll wonder.

No regrets, no forgiveness, no compassion.  
These brave heroes only know to hit and run.  
Slowly my sadness, turns to rage, and we wonder how can these scars ever heal when all is said and done?

So tell me, when will it be over now, how soon?  
How many tears must fall to prove to you?  
Please tell me, when will it be over now, how soon?  
And how far must they go to prove to you?

So we wait and we wonder…

(A/N: "We wait and we wonder" sung by Phil Collins, "Both Sides" 1993 Atlantic Recording Corporation)

How was that chapter? R&R please. 


	5. The First Spirit: First Contact

Sorry it took a while, folks. Busy with college preparations, y'know what I mean? By now, you know the only characters I own: Necronos, the warriors, and the spirits. Everyone else, I do not own. They are owned by Sega or Archie. If any of you have any requests for something you wish to be part of the chapters to come, feel free to say so in your reviews. I have most of it planned out, but I wouldn't mind your help. Anyway, I now present for your enjoyment, Chapter 5:

Sonic and the gang continued to travel through the void created by their new friend, Necronos, in order to get them all to the Green Hill Zone, now one of all the others Zones that make up Mobius Z. As you may recall, last time, the gang had been transformed into what they were six millenniums ago in their past lives: the ancient magical warriors of the White Wizard. With Espio the chameleon as Tomias, the master of ninjitsu. Rouge the bat as Celestia, the enchantress. Vector the crocodile, as Jurik the knight. Amy Rose as Saiuka, the magician. Knuckles the echidna as Darconda, the druid. Tails Prower as Horu-san, the warrior of the sky. And Sonic the hedgehog, the leader, as Tritaneon, the five star centurion. Their mission: to search Mobius Z for the seven spirits of the demon once known as Catalyst, who recently were released from their jeweled prison: The Cataclysmic Emerald.

Soon an opening in the void was seen up ahead. "Heads up, guys!" Sonic said to everyone. "The exits coming up!" "I hope we have a soft landing…" Amy said to herself. Everyone braced themselves. Then came a burst of light! "Ack! Blinded!" Knuckles shouted. No one could see anymore. "Someone kill the light show!" Vector complained. Then, everyone fell. "WHOOOOOOAAAAAAAAA!" THUD! The gang hit a hard surface. "Ooooh, I'll be feeling that tomorrow." Espio whispered. Sonic slowly opened his eyes. He saw palm trees that reached at least 20 feet high. Vast grassland with checkered brown hills that also formed loops and corkscrew paths. And distant waterfalls under sturdy rope bridges. Sonic finally spoke up. "Guys…looks like we're here."

"The Green Hill Zone," Rouge said softly. "I've never seen this Zone before. It's so…beautiful." "The first one I ever visited!" Sonic announced. "And it hasn't changed one bit!" "It reminds me of the Palmtree Panic Zone." said Amy. "Yeah, they always did look alike." Tails agreed. Espio spoke up. "As much as I'd like to enjoy the scenery, I believe we have a mission to accomplish, everyone." "Right. Now's not the time to get distracted." Knuckles agreed. Vector turned to Sonic. "Well fearless leader, what's the plan?" Sonic paused for a moment. He knew he had to think of a way for them to save their two worlds the quickest way possible.

Soon, he had an idea. "Okay. Listen up guys and girls. Necronos said that we would be able to awaken the warrior within all of us when necessary, just like when Tails became Horu-san when he fought Shadow. I think the only way we'll all be able to do the same, is if we each take on one spirit by ourselves. I say we split up and zip through any Zones along our paths, and hope we find one of the seven spirits. If we fight one of them, then what happened to Tails will most likely happen to us too, and we'll become powerful enough to take them out!" Knuckles agreed. "Right, Sonic. It would be much easier than having all of us go together and try to find them one at a time." Now Tails understood. "I get it. This way, if we're lucky, we can defeat all of them simultaneously!" "Now THAT sounds like a plan, boss man!" Vector complied. Everyone huddled, and put their hands in the center. "Alright guys!" Sonic shouted. "LETS GO GET 'EM!" "YEAH!" Amy looked through her card deck, and found one with the image of beams of light spreading away from each other. She held it up high. "HEROES' DEPARTURE!" A flash of light appeared and vanished in less than a second. Then, everyone was gone…

The Mystic Cave Zone: A dark, eerie forest existing deep within a subterranean cavern. Large vines hung from the stalactites, and trees stuck to the ceiling and ground. Wooden platforms stretched off the sides of cliffs. A never ending rail track laid on the cavern floor. The environment seemed still, and deathly silent, until the silence was disturbed by a 'BAM!' as a flash of light filled the cavern! When the light vanished, Espio stood in it's place. He took a quick look at his surroundings. "Hmm…Dark and dreary, candle lit lanterns being the only source of light, silence in every direction. Sounds like a good place for a spirit to hide out. Well he better watch himself, because Tomias is coming for him!"

Espio trekked through the cave's forest, hoping that one of the spirits had taken refuge somewhere within the Zone. For a long time all he saw were trees and formed stalactites, with no end in sight. "I hope one of those ghostly guys appear soon." he said to himself. Then a voice came from nowhere. "You sure about that?" Espio turned around fast, to find no one there. "Who's there!" he shouted. At first there was just silence, then the dark voice spoke again. "You wanted to find one of Catalyst's spirits, right intruder? Well, look no further…" Espio didn't see anyone. "Show yourself, coward!" he heard it again. "But that would ruin all my fun. Heh, heh, heh…" Espio stood perfectly still, waiting for a chance to find where the spirit was hiding. He saw something that caught his eye! "HIYAA!" He threw one of his shurikens to his left! Out of a shadowed area behind a tree, a hand reached out, and grabbed it in midair! Out stepped a large creature, covered in black scales, and spikes growing from his back. His physique look like a G.U.N. Hunter robot. The creature's hands and feet were formed as three fingers and toes pointed like daggers. His entire body was colored pitch black, except for his glowing, fiery red eyes. "Hello…Tomias. You can call me, Alpha Catalyst."

"Alpha, huh?" Espio replied. "Well, at least I can finally see you. Don't you know the whole voice coming from nowhere trick is becoming cliché?" "Heh, heh. Cocky as ever, aren't you, Tomias." Alpha answered back. "Not much has changed for you in 6000 years, I see. Including your unique wardrobe." Espio looked annoyed. "What? You're not gonna tell me I'm the only ninja you've ever seen!" "No," Alpha answered, "Maybe the only ninja I've ever seen colored violet! HA HA HA HA" he cackled evilly. Now Espio felt insulted. He stood in a tiger fighting stance. "Alright, demon boy. Enough trash. Why don't you just surrender yourself now before I go all Taebo on you?" "HA HA HAAAA!" Alpha cackled again. "But if you won THAT easily, wouldn't whoever's reading this be disappointed? I'm sure they would all appreciate a good fight!" Espio stood focused and ready. "Fine. Bring it on, gruesome!" Now Alpha looked more fierce than cocky. "You better be prepared, foolish one. I'm about to settle a long time grudge! Me and my brethren won't waste our only chance in so many years to destroy the seven apprentices of that accursed wizard who caused our separation from one body in the first place, and trapping us while we were so weak! Do you have any idea how it feels to be locked inside of a tiny cramped gemstone for six millenniums! It's deathly boring!" Espio looked even more determined. "Well, I can tell by your anger that I'm at least going to have a challenging fight!" Then Alpha's red eyes widened. "Tomias! I will tear you apart like I should have so long ago!"

Just then, Alpha's spikes grew two times longer, and he curled up until he looked like a giant spiked ball! He began to roll straight towards Espio at an incredible speed. "SPINNING MACE!" Espio jumped out of the way just before impact, but Alpha turned straight around right after he missed. "What th!" BAM! "AAGGGHH!" he shouted, as Alpha struck him head on. He fell to the floor. "HA! You should've known better than to try to fight me on my own turf, Tomias!" Espio slowly got back up. But as he looked around, no one was in sight. "Where are you, Alpha!" No answer. "No one strikes me behind my back and lives!" He got a shuriken ready. Then, something grabbed his feet! "HEY!" He looked down, and saw two hands rise out of the ground, holding him down! Alpha slowly rose out of the ground from beneath Espio. "Surprised to see me do that?" He grabbed a tighter hold on Espio, and flung him straight to one of the trees. "WHOOOOAAAA!" BAM! "UUGGHH!" Alpha stood tall, looking disappointed. "Hmph! You've gotten sloppy. This is too easy." He reached his arm out, and grabbed Espio by the throat! "ACK!" The two stared at one another. "I don't know whether I should finish you now, and taste the sweat nectar of victory. Or shall I make you suffer? After all, I can only enjoy your pain while you're still alive…Hmmm. Which sounds better to you?" Espio could barely breathe, but managed to speak up. "I say…how 'bout we go to Round 2!" Just then, Espio raised his foot straight up, and kicked Alpha in the face! "AAAAAAGGGHH!" That caused Alpha to lose his grip on Espio to cover his face.

"Why you little…I'LL MAKE SURE YOU DIE FOR THAT!" "Not if I finish you first!" Espio threw three shurikens toward his opponent. "TRIPLE STAR STRIKE!" They all hit their Alpha head on. But bounced off as soon as they struck! "What the!" Espio couldn't believe it. "Save your ammo, weakling! You never make a scratch on my stone hard body!" Espio stood in shock. "You mean, you're THAT strong?" "Of course, you fool! Why else do you think me and by brethren took refuge on this planet?" Then, Espio remembered what Necronos said about the spirits being more powerful in a place with a reality if it's own. "Now I get it! You all came here to adapt your powers into the multiple environments!" Alpha looked slightly impressed. "HA! I guess you're not as stupid as I gave you credit for!" Espio explained further. "It all made sense when I remembered we're in the Mystic Cave Zone! You're body has become as strong as the cavern walls, hasn't it!" "Is that your final answer?" Alpha taunted. "You becha!" Espio answered. Suddenly, Alpha stretched his arms outward, and ten stalactites appeared at his right and left sides, all pointing at Espio! "Then, accept your prize! SPIRE BARRAGE!" The stalactites flew right at Espio's position. "Say goodbye, rebel!" But Espio didn't move! And all of the pointed rocks ended up flying right past without even touching him! Alpha was surprised. "What? Why didn't you try to avoid my attack!" Espio remained calm. "Because now that I know the secret to your power, I believe I can now defeat you easily." Alpha wasn't impressed. "HA! I'd like to see you try, foolish mortal!" Espio sweat dropped. "Why do the villains always need to say that?"

Alpha stood prepared. "Go ahead! Give me your best shot!" Espio closed his eyes, and stood perfectly still, as if he were a standing statue. But Alpha didn't feel like waiting for him to strike, so he held his hand out in front of him, and took control of a ground growing stalagmite a few feet behind Espio. He levitated it off the ground, and aimed the point right at Espio's back. "He made this is waaay to easy…" he thought to himself, while grinning evilly. Ten seconds later, Alpha made his move. He pulled his arm in quickly, and the stalagmite rocketed straight towards Espio's back! "Gotcha!" he said to himself. "Impact in 3...2...1..." But suddenly, Espio jumped into the air, just as the point was about to impale him! With his eyes still closed, he flipped backward over the stalagmite as it flew right under him! And as soon as Espio landed, the rock had a new target! "Gotcha!" Espio said as his eyes flew open. "WHAT? NOOOO!" Alpha couldn't move in time! STAB! "AAAAAGGGHH!" the stone went right threw Alpha's chest, and stuck him to the tree behind him.

Alpha was stunned by what had just happened to him. He could barely open his eyes. But when he did, he saw Espio glowing, surrounded by a violet colored energy aura! He couldn't believe what he was witnessing. "Uugh…How?…How were you able to…see my attack…?" Espio answered. "Because I'm just what you've been calling me this whole time, Alpha Catalyst. I am Tomias, the master of ninjitsu. His spirit and powers lie within me, just like all my friends, and the warriors that lie within them. We all came here with a mission to accomplish. And that's exactly what I'm going to do right now!" Espio leaped into the air, threw one of his shurikens, and remembered his special power that Necronos had told him. With his own thoughts, he magically turned the one shuriken flying toward Alpha, into ten! "STRIKE OF THE TEN STARS!" They all hit their target perfectly, and exploded on impact! "NOOOOOOOOOOO!" And with a blinding flash of violet colored light, Alpha was gone.

"Well, that felt good!" Espio said to himself. But just as he was about to leave, something caught his eye. "What the? What's that?" Right where Alpha was destroyed, a small jewel shard laid on the ground. Violet colored. Espio picked it up. "Where did that come from?" Then, from out of nowhere- "Espio! Can you hear me?" He recognized that voice. "Necronos? Is that you?" "Yes, my friend. It's me! How's your quest going?" "Where are you? Why can't I see you?" "I'm using a temporary telepathy spell. Tell me Espio. Did you just defeat one of the spirits?" "Yeah, I sure did! But It wasn't easy, let me tell you! But he left behind…this jewel piece thingy." "He did! That's great!" "It…it is?" "Yes! What you're holding, is a shard of The Cataclysmic Emerald!" "Whoa! No foolin'?" "Nope! I believe that one you all have defeated all of the seven spirits, you will win all of the pieces needed to put the emerald back together!" "Oh…I get ya! I better find the others and tell them the same!" "It's best that you do, my friend! Just like any cliché critical mission, time is of the essence!" "Thanks for the tip, Necro! I'm off to find the others. Espio out!"

One spirit defeated, six remaining…Until next time, folks! R&R please! 


	6. The Second Spirit: Double Impact

You know the characters I own: Necronos, and the warriors and spirits. Others: property of Sega and/or Archie. Knux Girl, I apologize in advance. But Knuckles' battle will come after the next three chapters (including this one). I hope you can be patient. Time for Chapter 6:

The Star Light Zone: A gigantic, green colored construction site in the heart of a vast city, with it's lights matching that of the stars themselves. Thus making it, one of the most peaceful Zones that exist in a never ending night. All remained silent, until a flash up light appeared and then disappeared, leaving Rouge the bat behind. "Wow. What a beautiful night. I wish I could stick around to enjoy it, but I've got a spirit to find. If I came back empty handed, old Knucklehead would never let me live it down!" Rouge flew across the site, with her dark purple gown flowing in the wind, and her tiara shining in the starlight. Her matching elbow length gloves shined like amethysts. Makes her sound even more beautiful, doesn't it?

For twenty minutes, Rouge couldn't find anything out of place. No sign of any spirit wandering around. "This is getting boring, and I HATE being bored!" She was just about to leave, until… "BLACK WAVE!" Rouge saw a black energy wave form right in front of her! If she hadn't have stopped in time, she would've flown right into it! "What the?" She took a quick look around to find where it came from. When she glanced upward in front of her, she spotted someone. A feminine looking figure, wearing a black skin-tight jump suit, like a Catwoman impersonator. Her face looked human, with gray skin. And her eyes were the same shade of aqua as Rouge's. Her hands formed claws, and her feet had, matching high heels? Ummm…yeah. She wore a tiara like Rouge's, except it looked as if it was made from onyx. And she had dark gray angel-like wings. Rouge gazed at her for a moment. "And who might you be, harpy?" The figure just laughed. "HA HA HA HA. My, aren't you clever? Well since you asked, I'll be nice enough to tell you. I'm Beta Catalyst!"

Rouge smirked at her. "So, that makes you a spirit, right?" "Bingo, sister!" Beta replied. "And you must be the new Celestia. I would recognize that tiara anywhere!" Rouge didn't seem impressed. "I can see how. You have one like mine, ya copycat!" Beta looked offended. "Hey, watch it! It just happened to be the best fashion statement 6000 years ago, thank you!" Rouge smiled. "Well, leave to ladies like us to show off our favorite jewelry. Am I right?" Beta grinned menacingly. "I'll agree with you on that. But that will most likely be the only thing I'll agree with one like YOU!" Now Rouge prepared to defend herself. Beta continued. "You goody, goody rebels just can't let the dark forces win for once, can you?" "What can I say?" Rouge replied. "It's just what we do." Now Beta frowned. "Well frankly, I'm getting tired of it! This time I'll make sure darkness rules your worlds!" Rouge stood ready. "Fine then, sister! We'll do things your way, and fight!"

"Allow me!" Beta said as she grinned. "CREST OF NEGA!" A red colored symbol appeared in front of Rouge, and zapped her with black lightning! ZZZZZZTTT "AAAGGGHH!" she shouted. She felt a little dazed when she recovered, but was ready to counter. "How do you like THAT, bat girl?" "Not bad, but now it's MY turn!" Rouge grabbed her stick wand and pointed it right at Beta. "CHARM OF HEAVEN!" An energy beam shaped as a cross appeared, and hit Beta directly! "AAAGGGHH!" Now she looked a little ticked off. "Curse the powers of light! CURSE IT!" "Please, spare me the drama." Rouge said with a cocky attitude. "Just messing with ya!" Beta said while snickering. "How 'bout you just let me finish you off quickly?" A beam of light stretched from the curved tip of Rouge's wand. "CRIMSON WHIP!" She lashed the beam straight at Beta. But she reacted quickly enough to grab it! "HEY!" Rouge shouted. "How 'bout you go for a ride instead, girly!" Rouge was furious! "Don't EVER call me-" But before she could finish, Beta got a firm grip on the whip, and pulled Rouge toward the star scattered sky. "WHOOOOAAAAA!" Then Beta stopped, and spun like a tornado, carrying Rouge in her spinning motion. "Happy landings, GIRLY!" As soon as she let go, Rouge flew downward toward the top of the construction building, right into a-'BAM!'…wall.

"Oooooh, my head." Rouge said hazily. "Tsk, tsk, tsk." Beta said while slowly hovering down. "You really should be more careful to look where your going, you know?" Rouge finally got up, not looking to happy. "Alright, you witch! No more kid stuff! Lets get serious NOW!" she shouted. But all Beta did was smile evilly again. "I agree, Celestia. It's time I stopped playing around so I can kill you properly." The two of them stood still for a few moments, waiting for the other to make some kind of move. Suddenly, Beta held her hands into the air, toward a cluster of stars. "Ooooookay. What are you doin', blackie?" Rouge questioned. "You'll see soon enough." she answered. Rouge looked up at the sky, and saw nothing. But then, a group of stars began to glow brighter than the others, forming the pattern of a familiar looking constellation. And shooting down from the stars, came a pillar of blue light that surrounded Beta. She began to look blurry to Rouge, until she spoke up. "GEMINI'S BLESSING!" The blue light exploded in a blinding flash! It took a few seconds but Rouge finally got her vision back. At least, that's what she thought at first. "What the? I must be seeing double. It looks like there are two of you, Beta!" "Heh, heh, heh. THERE ARE!" she snapped back. Rouge took another look, and couldn't believe her eyes. She was staring at TWO Beta Catalysts! "Arghh…Why is NOTHING easy anymore?"

"Life's just not fair, is it?" said the first Beta. "We all can't get what we want." said the second. "You mean I can't, right?" Rouge said impulsively. "Exactly!" said the first Beta again. "Thanks to my power to bend reality, not to mention gain strength from the stars themselves-" "-the odds are now stacked in MY favor!" the second Beta finished. "AND THAT EQUALS YOUR DEFEAT!" the two said in unison. "DARKNESS WAVE!" The two fired from their hands two waves of negative energy, which combined as a double helix! And Rouge was the only target around, so… 'BAM!' "AAAGGGHH!" she wailed as she fell to the floor. "Arghh…darn it! Her strength has doubled…now that she has!" She felt so weak. Her body felt really heavy. But she knew she couldn't…wouldn't give up! "DARKNESS WAVE!" The two fired again, but Rouge was ready. "TELEPORT!" The Betas attack hit the building head on! 'BAM!' But when the dust cleared, Rouge was gone!

"Hey waitaminute! No fair!" said one Beta. "How am I supposed to kill you if you vanish!" said the other. No answer. The two looked all around the building, but saw no one but themselves. They then spoke up in unison. "Where are we supposed to find a bat in the dark?" "Behind you!" "Wha-" Rouge flew towards one of them from behind and did her favorite trick! "SCREW KICK!" 'POW!' Right in the back! "OOOOWWWWW!" Beta said as she flew right into the building's-'BAM!'…wall. But the other was still up! "Why you little-what?" She turned around and saw Rouge's right hand clenched into a fist, glowing fiery red! "DRAGON FIST!" Rouge jabbed as a bright fireball shot from her fist, right at the second Beta's stomach. "AAAGGHH! IT BURNS!" she cried. The two were now badly damaged from the direct hits of Rouge's attacks, struggling to stand at the top of the construction building. "Had enough, ya reject witches?" The two Betas were now furious! "We've had enough of you!" one shouted. "It's time we finish you once and for all!" the other shouted. Both of them raised their hands, as a gaseous fume quickly appeared around Rouge! "BLACK VAPOR!" Soon Rouge vanished within the gas, as it grew into a black cloud!

"Ha! That gas will suck the life energy right out of her!" "Then finishing her will be easy as-" But before she could finish, the gas suddenly faded away! And Rouge emerged, surrounded by an indigo colored aura! "Hey! What's going on!" the two shouted in unison. Rouge slowly descended from above. "I can feel it…The full power of Celestia has finally retuned to me! The power I need to FINISH YOU, BETA!" "No…It can't be!" the two said cowardly. Rouge started to glow brighter, as four multicolored apparitions emerged from within her! "CELESTIAL SPIRITS!" The four apparitions encircled the Betas, and struck them both with a double impact! "AAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHH" Then came a blinding flash. Once it cleared, they were gone.

Rouge floated down, and landed on top of the building. "Finally. I though I was NEVER going to shut her up once and for all." She was going to exit the Zone, until… "Hey! What's that down there?" Rouge walked over the roof to find an indigo colored jewel shard. "WOW! Looks like I got a reward this time! Come here, precious!" But from out of nowhere… "Don't plan on taking that for keeps!" Rouge turned around and found… "Espio! When did you get here?" "Just now. I take it your battle was successful?" "Of course. It was perfect, like ME!" "Then come on! We have to catch up with the others!" "Wait! What about my prize?" "You can hold on to it for now, but NOT for keeps!" "Aww, why not?" Espio signed. "I'll explain on the way, okay? Lets go!" "Alright, alright! Don't get your tights in a knot, ninja boy!"

Two spirits defeated, five remaining… Until next time! R&R, and tell your friends. I need more readers! Thank you! 


	7. The Third Spirit: Volcanic Panic

You know I only own Necronos, the warriors, and the spirits, and everyone else belong to Sega and/or Archie. (Man, I'm getting tired of saying this). Time for Chapter 7: 

The Lava Reef Zone: A smoldering underground volcanic cavern, with rivers of flowing magma, and never ending tunnels which make this Zone one of most difficult labyrinths to get through safely. Then, from out of one of the dark tunnels, came Vector, while wearing his shining bronze medieval armor, with scattered precious stones. His long, heavy sword rested in his sheath. He had been wandering through the Zone for at least an hour, with no luck in finding the next spirit. "Man! This is my luck. I've searched hi and low in this hot spot for I don't know how long, in a suit of armor that may look nice, but is too hard to walk in properly! All for some spirit that may not even be here in the first place!" However he continued on for he didn't feel like leaving the Zone without finding something that looked promising.

One hour later: "Jeez…Why couldn't I have been transported to the Casino Night Zone? I would've at least been able to win some moolah to pay off those piles of bills back home!" Vector started to feel a little weak. "Whew…Is it me? Or is this place a lot hotter than I remember it?" "That's because I've taken control of this area!" said a booming, ominous voice. "Hey! Who is that?" Vector questioned. The voice spoke again. "So, Jurik. You've dared to enter the Zone now inhabited by Delta Catalyst, have you?" Vector got excited. "Well if you're the spirit I've been searching for TWO HOURS for, then you better believe it!" "I see…" said Delta's voice. "I would've thought you have fainted from the extreme heat I've filled the Zone with by now! I'm actually impressed." Vector looked around but saw no one in sight. "How about you show yourself, gruesome! So that we can get down to business!" Delta's voice spoke again. "HA! It's not going to be that easy! You have to find me first!" "SAY WHAT?" Vector shouted. "What's up with that, pal? You too chicken to fight me or something?" "HA HA HA! You wish, foolish one. It just makes destroying you a whole lot more entertaining! I suggest you hurry up and find my chamber, for if you do not in exactly 30 minutes, I'll cause the volcano to erupt, finishing you just like that!" Vector stood in a daze. "You're…you're kidding, right?" "On the contrary. I'm dead serious." Delta answered. "However, I hope you succeed in locating my chamber. After all, when you die I want to see it for myself! The clock is ticking… HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA…." Delta's cackling slowly faded until there was silence once again. "Well you better be ready," Vector said to himself, "Because once I find you, I'll make you eat every single word you said!" Then he sweat dropped. "Wait! What am I doin' just standing here talking to myself? I GOTTA GET MOVIN'!" So Vector finally took off, and dashed into the tunnel where Delta's voice came from.

Vector dashed through the Zone as fast as he could in his heavy armor. Twenty minutes later, heentered a largetunnel, and found the opening to another area ahead. "HA! I'll be out of here in no time!" he thought. But as soon as he stepped out of the tunnel, "WHOA! What the?" Right in front of him, stood a giant robotic hand, which came crashing down to the ground! 'WHAM!' "Hey, what's up with THAT?" Delta's voice filled the room. "Oh, sorry. Did I forget to mention you had to get by my obstacle first? Well, better hurry. Only ten minutes left…" His voice faded away. Vector got out his sword. "Alright! Comin' at ya, lefty!" Vector took a swipe at the hand's wrist area, but when he made contact, all it did was cause him to vibrate violently. "Wha-wha-wha-wha-wha-wha" Eventually, he stopped. "Note to self: That was stupid." The hand was getting ready to slap again. Before Vector could react, it hit the ground causing a shock wave! "WHOA!" Vector fell to the ground. Before he could get back up, the hand's fingers, opened like hatch doors, revealing the missiles inside them! "Oh crud…" was all Vector had time to say, as the missiles fired around the area he stood. He became surrounded by multiple explosions! 'BOOM!' 'BAM!' 'KABOOM!'

Vector recovered, but appeared very shook up from the blasts. And angry, too! "That's it! Now I'm mad! Mess with this croc, will ya?" He held his sword out in front of him, as crystal pieces began to form from the sword's blade. "STORM OF SHARDS!" The crystals fired directly at the hand's metal hull, exploding on contact. 'BOOM!' 'BAM!' 'KABOOM!' When the smoke from the blasts cleared, an opening in the metal revealed the circuitry underneath it! "Hey! A weak spot!" Vector noticed. "ELECTRIC SLASH!" He swiped his sword, and an electrical bolt flew from his blade, into the hole in the metal. The extra energy caused the hand to short circuit, and I'm sure you all know what that means: Overload! 'KZZZZZZT!' 'KZZZZZZZT!' And the hand fell to the ground with one final 'WHAM!'

"Well, that was a waist big waste of time!" Vector complained. "I bet I hardly have any time left to get outta here." "You're right!" Delta spoke again. "Five minutes and counting…" Vector took off again, running as fast as he could. Passing through the endless tunnels, jumping across the rivers of lava, and avoiding booby trap flamethrowers. Until finally, "I see it! The last chamber in the Zone!" Vector finally reached the end of the trail. It was a large cavern room, with a large lava lake right in the center. Delta's voice reappeared. "Congratulations, Jurik. You felt right into my trap!" Vector was actually surprised to here that. "WHAT? Aw, come on! What did I do this time?" "You just made it easier for me to kill you!" Delta began. "Instead of making myself search the entire Zone for you, I simply brought you here to me instead with my threat!" Now Vector was mad. "So you were never going to erupt the volcano in the first place?" "Bingo! After all, it's time I showed myself so you can see the face of your executioner!"

The center of the lava lake began to boil, as the chamber became increasingly warmer. Suddenly, the lava erupted like a geyser, spewing everywhere. And flames began to appear at the surface. The flames then changed shape, and formed the head and long neck of a dragon! That's right. Delta Catalyst was a dragon made entirely out of fire! His neck stuck out above the surface of the lava, and his eyes looked directly at Vector, who was a bit shook up about the true form of his opponent. "Homina homina homina homina homina…" But he remembered that he had a job to do, and would let nothing stand in his way! So he snapped out of his daze, and whipped out his sword. "Well, I believe it's time I pay you back for this wild chase you put me through! SO, (can't believe I'm gonna say this) HAVE AT THEE, FOWL DEMON!"

Delta's only response was a loud 'ROOOOOOOAAAAAAAARRRR'. Vector pointed his sword right at him. "STORM OF SHARDS!" A barrage of crystals flew right at Delta. But unfortunately, the all melted when they made contact. Vector sweat dropped. "Oh…right…He's made of fire…" Delta took this moment to show off his fiery breath! 'FWA-VOOOSH!' "WHOA BABY!" Vector ducked to avoid the flames just in time. "Watch it, hot stuff! Whatcha tryin' to do? Barbeque me?" Delta cackled. "I GUESS YOU CAN SAY THAT, YES!" 'FWA-VOOOSH!' Vector ran around Delta toward the other side of the lake. "He's got to have a weak spot somewhere!" he said to himself. Delta continued to spit fire along his path, hoping that at least ONE shot will strike. Vector stopped to try to attack again, but he couldn't react in time. And Delta shot fire again at his target, with a direct hit! "AAAAAAGGGGHHH!"

Vector fell to the ground. He felt like he had lost almost all of his energy. His armor was damaged from the flame's direct hit. "Awww, tired out already, Jurik? You disappoint me!" Delta said in his deep roaring voice. "However I shouldn't complain. Two of my brethren have already failed us, so I will finally succeed in destroying one of you cursed warriors!" Vector looked up, and watched as Delta's dragon mouth began to open wide, as red light slowly began to form inside of him. "Great…he's powering up for the final blow…now what can I do? My attacks are useless, and I can barely defend myself….-Wait! Defend! That's it!" But Delta had already powered up enough. "SAY GOODBYE, REBEL!" he then unleashed a large burst of fiery breath! "PYRO TORRENT!"

Vector disappeared within the blaze of flames! Almost the entire chamber was swallowed by the gigantic inferno! Until a few seconds after the attack, the flames began to disperse. Delta was about to praise his victory. He roared loudly. "HA! Jurik has fallen! Now I can aid my brethren in the destruction of the rest of them!" But just then, "I don't think so, Draco!" "WHAT!" Delta turned around, and saw Vector still standing, surrounded by a blue colored barrier! "IT CAN'T BE! HOW! HOW DID YOU SURVIVE!" Vector explained. "It's simple, actually! I just remembered Necronos telling me what the old Jurik's special ability was: to take whatever strength I had left, and make it an impenetrable force field!" Vector held his sword out in front of him again. The blade was slowly being surrounded by electric bolts! "And now for my favorite part of a battle: the good guy's finishing move!" "NOOOOO!" Delta had no way to defend himself. He used up all of his energy in his last attack! "ELECTRON JOUST!" A swarming stream of electric bolts fired form Vector's blade, and encircled Delta, until he was trapped within! And he blew up in one last combustion! "AAAAAAAAAAHHHHHH!"

Soon, the smoke cleared, and the dust had settled. Vector was so relieved that he actually won. "BOOYA! This croc made out on top, baby! YEAH!" He was about to congratulate himself more, until he noticed something shining in the center of the chamber. A blue jewel shard. "Well, now. What have we here?" he wondered. Then out of nowhere, Rouge flew in and snatched the shard! "HEY!" "I'll take this, if you don't mind!" "Hey! I found it first! Give it here, sister!" "Nah. I think I'll just hang on to it for a while." Then Espio walked in. "Rooouge… Give it back." She sighed in disappointment, but did as she was told. "Killjoy." she mumbled to herself. "Come on, Vector!" Espio said. "It's time you joined us in looking for the others!" "Oh right! They might need out help! Lets move out, people!"

Three spirits defeated, four remaining…Til next time, folks! RR


	8. The Fourth Spirit: The Town That Attacke...

Necronos, the spirits, and the warriors all equal…the only characters I own. Rest belong to Sega and/or Archie. If you would say you forgot that, I wouldn't believe you since I've said it every chapter! Just getting my point across…here's Chapter 8. 

The Grand Metropolis Zone: A large futuristic, technological city which surprisingly, doesn't have that big of a population. With it's towering skyscrapers, large power plant of infinite energy, and extremely advanced technology, why wouldn't anyone want to live here? Maybe it's because the only figures ever seen within the city were unfriendly robots? Well, at this point the city was about to have a temporary population of 1! One Amy Rose actually. She stood atop one of the tallest towers, overlooking the city from above. She was dressed in her Dark Magician Girl outfit (y'know, from Yu-Gi-Oh). She held her curved wand in one hand, and her deck of magic cards in the other. "HELLOOOO……EVIL SPIRITS….!" She called out. "COME OUT, COME OUT WHEREVER YOU ARE….!"

Soon she used one of her cards to teleport back onto the city streets. "Can't believe I thought that would work." she said as she sweat dropped. She began to wander the streets, hoping to find another Catalyst spirit. As she walked, she couldn't help but glance at all of the buildings and tall towers. "Such a big city, but it's nothing more than a empty place where no one lives or goes…What a waste…" You have to admit she has a point. If such a Zone were to exist in my world, I'd move there in a heartbeat! I've always dreamed of living in such an advanced civilization! Ioh, right! I should continue the story…Sorry (sweat drop).

"Thank you!" Amy says to me! Now then, Amy continued her trek, until she stopped. She looked ahead and saw something, or someone in the distance. Whatever it was, it was coming closer. Amy didn't feel all too safe at that moment. Was it a friend, or foe? Soon she began to see what was approaching her. It appeared to be a robot! But it didn't look very threatening. It was at least five inches shorter than Amy. It had a small spherical body, with a curved head barely poking out of the top. It's arms were as thin as vines, with scissor-like clippers as hands. It's feet were slow moving treads. The robot came closer to Amy, not slowing down. Finally, it stopped when it was about three yards away from Amy. She stared in confusion. "What's with this bucket of bolts?" she thought to herself. After ten seconds of silence, the robot spoke, in a metallic, monotone voice. "Greetings, organic life form. Welcome to my city. I am Gamma Catalyst!"

Amy sweat dropped (again) then burst out laughing! "AHA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA! You've got to be kiddin' me! HA HA HA HA!" "Negative. I am Gamma Catalyst." the robot responded in the same monotone, metallic voice. "Riiiiiight." Amy said sarcastically. "And what do you intend to do now? 'giggle' Gamma?" She tried her best not to crack up again. "My mission is to destroy you." he said. "Actually, I believe it's MY mission to destroy YOU!" Amy said back. She grabbed her wand tightly, and clubbed the robot, 'WHAM!' just as if she was using her Piko Piko hammer! 'BZZZZT!' 'KZZZZZT!' "Error! Error! Malfunction!" the robot said as it short circuited. Amy gave it one last 'WHAM!' , and it fell to pieces! "Well, THAT was lucky!" Amy said to herself. "I'll bet I just beat the weakest spirit of the pack! Looks like I'm done here!"

But the she heard something. It sounded like…footsteps. They were coming from behind her. She turned around, and saw another robot! This one looked a little more dangerous. It had a square-like body, rectangular arms and legs with claws as hands and feet, and a cone shaped, spiked head. "Scanning…Scanning…Organic life form detected…" it said in the same monotone voice, which was slightly different than the other robot. "Greetings. I am Gamma Catalyst!" Amy stared in surprise! "But…but you can't be Gamma! I just destroyed Gamma!" The robot stood silent for a moment. "Negative. I'm standing right before you. And you must be destroyed!" His chest plate opened, revealing what looked like a type of laser gun! "Crud!" Amy said to herself. The gun began to light up. "BUSTER BEAM!" A large laser fired from his chest! But Amy was able to avoid it by jumping to her right! "Hey! That's it! Now it's MY turn!" She pulled out a card that had the image of a mirror. "REFLECT AND COPY!" Her card suddenly fired the same beam back at the robot! 'BLAST!' It exploded into pieces.

"Whew! I'm glad THAT'S over!" However she spoke too soon, again. She heard a faint humming sound. She turned around again, and looked up at the sky. Another robot was hovering above her! But not just any robot. It was a"AN E-2000 ROBOT? NO WAY!" It seemed to have locked onto her position. "Subject: Saiuka. Threat possibility: 40. Objective: Destroy!" It paused for a moment. "Saiuka! Prepare to fall before the might of Gamma Catalyst!" "WHAT THE HECK IS GOING ON HERE?" She wailed! The E-2000 dive bombed right toward her. She jumped out of the way, just as his shield arm punched the pavement with a 'BASH!'. The dust cleared, and Amy looked around for her opponent. "Alright! Where are ya, bot-head?" Just then, the E-2000 appeared at her left, and struck her! 'WHAM!' "AAAAAGGGHHH!" Amy felt to the ground. "Prepare to perish!" the robot said. But she got up fast. "I don't think so!" She threw a card with an 'E' on it, and pointed her wand at it. "RADIANCE ENERGY!" Her wand glowed bright, and suddenly, a beam of white fired from the card! But the robot put up his shield at the last moment. The beam hit head on, but soon faded away. It had no effect whatsoever. "WHAT? COME ON!" Amy said loudly in disappointment. The robot raised his right arm. "My turn! Locked on target!" Amy gulped. "PLASMA BEAM, FIRE!" 'BLAST!' Amy ducked! The beam didn't strike her, but the force of it caused her to be pushed backward! "WHOOOAAAAA!" The beam hit a building nearby, causing it to collapse!

Dust from the fall filled the streets, and Amy was nowhere in sight. The E-2000 scanned the location. "No life form within range…Target destroyed…Mission accomplished!" But then… "Wait! Sensors picking up, energy source!" Amy rose from the dust, shining in a green light! "Hiya! Miss me, Gamma?" "Energy signature: of the charts! Threat possibility: 110! IT'S NOT POSSIBLE!" "Oh, it's quite possible! As you said before: MY TURN!" She held her wand out again, as the green light around her move to the end of the wand! "EMERALD BLAZE!" The green energy fired from her wand! The E-2000 held up its shield again, but it wasn't strong enough this time, and blasted right through! "WHY? IT'S NOT LOGICAL! NOT LOGICAL! WHY? WHYYYYYY?" 'BLAST!'

The robot was destroyed. Amy stood proudly. "HA! I may be a girl, but I'm a pretty darn tough one!" She teleported to the top of one of the other buildings. "Well, time for me to blow this town!" "PYRO BOMBARDMENT!" "WHA?" Amy turned around and spotted a bombardment of fireballs coming right at her! "WHOA!" She grabbed a card quickly! One with a shield on it! "QUICK DEFENSE!" A barrier encircled Amy. And as the fireballs struck, she was protected. "Alright! Where the heck did THAT come from?" She looked out in the distance. It looked like a squadron of ten combat robots, with jet-like wings were flying right at her! They spoke in unison. "FEMALE! YOU WILL NEVER ESCAPE FROM THE CITY OF GAMMA CATALYST!" "WHAT? Oh come on! How many of you are there?" "Heh, heh, heh…AS MUCH AS I WANT!" said an ominous voice! "Whawho's there?" The squadron fired again. "PYRO BOMBARDMENT!" This time Amy dodged them all in time!

"Come on! Who said that?" Just then, Amy heard a sound. She looked behind her and saw a taller building across the street of the one she was standing on. It had a large video screen on the side facing her, and it turned on! For a moment there was only static, but then an image appeared. There was a pair of blood red eyes staring menacingly! And a toothy mouth grinning evilly! The rest was black! "Who-who are you?" Amy said. She was trembling. "HAHAHAHA! Can't you tell? I'm the one! I'M GAMMA CATALYST!" Amy was surprised! "YOU? But-but-but what about all those robots?" "HA! Their my creations, of course." "You made them?" "Duh! That's what happens when you fuse with a Zone!" "Wha-what did you say-?" "HA! You heard me, girly! I haven't taken on a physical form like my brethren. Instead, I decided to become one with the Zone itself!" Amy stared, with her jaw hanging open. "You'reyou'reyou're the Zone itself?" "Do I have to spell it out for you? Fine! No matter where you go in this Zone, no matter where you try to hide, I'm there! See for yourself!" Amy looked down at the streets below, and couldn't believe what she saw! Robots! Thousands of them! They were all marching down the streets toward her location! "So now you know, Saiuka! You can't possibly win! And as soon as my robotic minions finish you off, they will rule this land, with an iron hand, and iron leg, and an iron everything for that matter!" Now Amy was worried. "I wish Sonic was here…" she said while trembling.

But Amy shook her head, and began to focus. "NO! I can't always rely on him! This is my chance to prove that I can be as strong as everyone else!" She then leaped off the top of the building, and landed on the street below. "Ooooh, that wasn't very bright…" Gamma said, his face still on the screen on the building. "You shouldn't be in such a hurry to die, you know…" Amy didn't listen. She was prepared to fight! The robotic army began to surround her. But Amy held up another card, with a whirlwind on it. "EYE OF THE STORM!" And suddenly, a cyclone appeared right above her, pulling in a large number of the robots around her! "WHOOOAAAA! DANGER! DANGER! WE'RE IN DANGEEEEEERRRRRR!"

"Hmmm, clever. But you won't last long!" Gamma insisted. "Squadron! Exterminate her!" "PYRO BOMBARDMENT!" Amy looked up. "Not that again." She got out a familiar looking card. "REFLECT AND COPY!" The blasts flew right back at the Squadron! 'BAM!' 'BOOM!' 'BLAST!' They fell to pieces. But then'CLANK!' "AAAGGHH!" Amy was grabbed by a metallic tendril! And was pulled to the robot it was attached to. It was too strong for her to break loose. "NO! Let me go!" "Negative. You must perish!" Soon, Amy was surrounded by robots again, and Gamma's eyes looked below from the screen. "Well Saiuka. It was fun while it lasted, right? Adieu, young lady!" Another E-2000 stepped forward from the crowd of robots, and pointed his gun right at her. Amy stared in fear, as a small tear began to form under her eye. "Sonic…I'm sorry…I failed…" The robot prepared to fire! "DIE!" it shouted.

"ELECTRON JOUST!" Suddenly, an electrical charge came out of nowhere, and struck the E-2000! 'KZZZZZT!' "AAAAAGGGGHHH!" it cried. It short circuited and fell to the ground! The robot holding Amy stood up. "What was that?" 'SWOOSH!' Something grabbed Amy from the robot's tendril! "I'll take that!" "HEY!" Then suddenly, "STRIKE OF THE TEN STARS!" The robot got bombarded with mini projectiles, and exploded! 'BOOM!' Amy slowly opened her eyes. And she couldn't believe who she was looking at! "VECTOR! ROUGE! ESPIO! You're all here?" "Surprised?" said Vector. "Hey there, darlin'!" said Rouge. "Didja miss us?" Espio asked.

"WHAT? INTRUDERS?" Gamma said loudly. "In MY city?" "Why don't we show ol' square face up there how WE fight?" Rouge suggested. "I like your thinkin'!" Vector answered. "Let's do it!" Espio said vigorously. "ELECTRIC SLASH!" "DRAGON FIST!" "THREE STAR STRIKE!" The three charged the robotic army head on! Even though there were thousands of them, it was clear that the gang had the advantage. Don't you agree?

As the battle continued, more and more robots fell. But soon, more and more were beginning to appear out of nowhere. Gamma didn't feel threatened. "HA HA HA HA HA! YOU FOOLS! CAN'T YOU ALL SEE THAT IT'S POINTLESS TO OPPOSE ME? I AM THE ZONE! YOU WILL NEVER BE ABLE TO DEFEAT ME! THE ONLY POSSIBLE WAY YOU COULD IS TO WIPE OUT THE ENTIRE ZONE ITSELF! AND WOULD ANY OF YOU REALLY BE WILLING TO TAKE THAT RISK?" The three continued to fight the army. But soon, they began to realize the truth. Vector stopped for a moment. "Hey guys? Is it me, or is that big mouth right?" Espio wondered. "It's true that he does have a point. None of us have ever become powerful enough to destroy a whole environment." Rouge soon realized. "We can't risk destroying the Zone! Who knows what side effect it might cause to the others?" "HA! CHECK, AND MATE!" Gamma boasted.

But suddenly'ZAAAP!' 'ZAAAP!' 'ZAAAP!' The three of them disappeared! "WHAT THE?" Gamma was surprised. "WHERE DID YOU ALL GO?" "I sent them all away!" Gamma's eyes shifted, and he stared angrily at, Amy! "WHAT HAVE YOU DONE?" he demanded. She answered. "They might not be willing to risk the destruction of this Zone, but I AM!" "WHAT? YOU CAN'T! YOU WOULDN'T DARE TO BE THAT DESTRUCTIVE!" "Just watch me, jerk!" Else ware, about ½ a mile from the city, Vector, Rouge, and Espio reappeared! 'ZAAAAAAP!' "Hey! What happened? Where are we?" Vector wondered. "Hey guys! LOOK!" Rouge pointed toward the city, and saw a bright green light begin to form above! "That light……do you think it's Amy?" Espio questioned. In the city, Amy hovered above the tallest towers in the Zone, surrounded by the green light, and holding her wand at a card, with an image of a planet surrounded by fire! "Sonic…I'm just glad you're not here to see me do this…" she said to herself. "GLOBAL APOCALYPSE!" Large beam of light fired from her wand, and hit the center of the city, creating a quickly expanding explosion! None of the robots could escape from the blast! Gamma couldn't believe it! "WHAT? BUT I'M A ZONE! THIS CAN'T BE HAPPENING! NOT TO ME! NOT TO ME! NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!" 'BOOOOOOOOOOOOOOM!'

The blast was indescribable. Amy slowly hovered back down to the ground. All that was left, was a barren wasteland. She stood as still as a statue. The others quickly ran toward her. "Amy! You did it! You beat Gamma!" Vector said with relief. But she didn't respond. Rouge thought she may have frightened herself after executing such a devastating attack. "Are you alright, Amy?" But just then, Amy looked up at them, with a bright smile on her face! "Ha, ha! I'll be fine Rouge, just as long as I don't have to do THAT again!" Espio laughed. "Ha, ha, ha. Yeah. If Sonic saw you did that, he may NEVER let his guard down for you again!" "Yeah! I'll bet you're right!" Amy answered back. Vector picked up something from the ground. "Hey wait! Don't forget your prize!" He tossed what he found at Amy. She caught it, and gazed at a green jewel shard! "Thanks Vector! Now how 'bout we go and find the others?" "YEAH!" They shouted in unison!

Four spirits defeated, three remaining. Are these guys on a role, or what? R&R!


	9. The Fifth Spirit: Purity of Darkness

Only own Necronos, the spirits, and warriors. The rest, Sega or Archie property. Knux Girl! It's the moment you've been waiting for! Chapter 9! 

_Something is callin' me- I don't know what.  
Someone is talkin'- but I don't know who.  
Something is callin' me- more and more.  
No one stops Knuckles and feet!_

The Marble Garden Zone: Ancient ruins that once existed near the center of Angel Island. The hundreds of fallen columns and dilapidated temples remain untouched as the lush green landscape constantly grows around them. Night had fallen at this time. The light of a full moon brightened up the darkness covering the land. Then, a shadowed figure stepped out of one of the ruin entrances. It was Knuckles, wearing his metal plated hood, and pitch black cloak that reached the ground. His face was unseen within the darkness of the hood, leaving only his eyes visible. He began to wander the fields outside the ruins. "Hmmm…I'm pretty sure one of those spirits are here somewhere. Necronos said that my negative energy can practically rival that of the forces of darkness. So, maybe I can sense them if they're nearby, like I could when the Master Emerald still existed…"

Knuckles continued to walk across the fields, and travel over and under fallen columns. Then, he felt a presence. He stopped for a moment. "One is close…" He ran across the fields until he reached another ruin entrance, surrounded by columns still standing. Knuckles looked up, and spotted a shadowed figure standing atop one column. "So, you've found me, Darconda." "Are you a spirit?" Knuckles asked. "That seems pretty obvious, doesn't it?" The figure slowly walked down from the column. It stopped a few feet away from Knuckles. He looked like a standing shadow. Completely black. "So, what's your story, gruesome?" Knuckles asked. "I am Epsilon Catalyst." the figure answered. "Nothing personal, but I must kill you now." Knuckles wasn't convinced. "Well, you don't look that tough in my opinion!" Epsilon gave off a muffled laugh. "Well, I wouldn't jump to conclusions to quickly if I were you…"

Knuckles stared at Epsilon. "And why is that, dare I ask?" "If you had been in the other chapters, you would know by now that all of us have a unique, special ability. So, I might as well reveal mine. Right now, what you see before you is, how can I put this, not the real me!" "Excuse me?" Knuckles asked confused. "You see my friend, I'm a morphological being. One who has no true form. Only whichever I chose." Epsilon explained. "Allow me to demonstrate!" Knuckles stood back, wondering what he would do. "This I gotta see." Epsilon stood still, as a dark aura began to form around him. He mumbled a few words… "Runyen Sai Ta… Runyen Sai Ta… Runyen Sai Ta…" And he slowly repeated the words faster. "Runyen Sai Ta, Runyen Sai Ta, Runyen Sai Ta…" The dark aura around him grew bigger. Knuckles stared in suspense. "What's this guy up too?" he wondered. Soon Epsilon was glowing in a dark blue energy field! "Runyen Sai Ta, Runyen Sai Ta, Runyen Sai Ta, Runyen Sai Ta. Runyen Sai Ta Runyen Sai Ta, RUNYEN SAI TAAAA!" 'BLAST!' Epsilon disappeared in a blinding flash of blue light!

Seconds later, the light finally dimmed. Knuckles uncovered his eyes. "Whoa. What the heck happened?" But before he could think of an answer for himself, he looked in front of him, and froze in shock! "I…I…what the-?" He couldn't believe it. Knuckles was looking at himself! "Are…you…?" "That's right." it said to him. "I am Epsilon Catalyst!" "But…but you're ME!" Knuckles while staring wide-eyed. "Exactly!" Epsilon answered. "I chose your form for my transformation, because I always did like having my opponents experience what it would be like to go against themselves!" Knuckles was amazed. "Interesting strategy. I've never seen anything like it." "Ah yes. Impressive, isn't it?" Epsilon boasted. "So, Darconda. Do you dare try to challenge yourself?"

Knuckles stood ready. "I may be Darconda the druid to you. But to me, I'm still Knuckles the Echidna. And I NEVER turn down a challenge! So bring it on, double ganger!" Epsilon was surprised he was so confident. "Right, then. Just remember, you asked for it!" Knuckles lunged himself toward Epsilon! "YAAAAAH!" Epsilon lunged toward Knuckles! "YAAAAAH!" The two made contact. 'WHAM!' Their hands were locked in a tight grip on one another. Knuckles then let go and spun to the ground making a leg sweep move. But Epsilon jumped just at the last moment, and somersaulted backward, and out of the way. He then lunged forward again, and tackled Knuckles while he was still on the ground! 'BAM!' "UUUGGHH!" He flew backward, and hit the ground.

Knuckles opened his eyes, and saw Epsilon in the air, about to land right on top of him! "HIYAAAA!" Epsilon jabbed with his fist, but Knuckles rolled to the right, causing him to punch nothing but the ground. "Wha-?" Knuckles got up, and countered with a straight punch to the head! 'POW!' "UUGHH!" But Epsilon recovered quickly. The two combatants stood still for a moment, waiting patiently for the other to make a move. Ten seconds later, the two leaped into the air, and began a lightning fast fist to fist battle! Just like what you see on DBZ all the time. Allow me to narrate: Knuckles fired and energy blast, but Epsilon quickly punched it out of the way! Epsilon tried a reverse roundhouse kick, and Knuckles blocked easily with a strong guard! Knuckles then throws punches like a machine gun, but Epsilon moves so fast in response, he hardly made contact! And Epsilon fired a barrage of energy blasts, only to have Knuckles avoid every shot with his swiftness! 'Whew'. That's a lot of fighting in only five seconds, ain't it!

After two straight minutes of super fast fighting, the two combatants stopped for a moment, staring at each other while levitating above the field. The two of them were panting silently. "I must admit, your fighting skills are almost as good as mine." Knuckles said to his opponent. "What can I say? It's all thanks to you finding me. Otherwise, I wouldn't have met you and taken your form, or gained all this new strength!" Epsilon answered. Knuckles soon realized. "Wait. So you're saying that when you copied my form, you were also able to copy my powers as well?" he asked in surprise. Epsilon muffled a laugh again. "You mean your abilities to perform every martial art known in history, as well as fueling yourself with negative energy by using the light of the full moon hanging above us?……No. Why would I?" Knuckles sweat dropped. "Ha, ha, ha."

"If you don't mind, I'd like to resume our battle!" The two once again, spent ten minutes in high speed combat, with lightning fast punches and kicks, and energy blasts. The ruins of the Zone were crumbling around them. Eventually, they both landed on the ground again. Knuckles began to focus his energy, as a ray of moonlight began to shine upon him. He then held his hands outward, as a red colored energy orb formed in front of him. "LUNAR PLASMA!" Knuckles fired a beam of red energy, right at Epsilon! But he didn't move! He put his arms up in an 'X' shaped guard, and took the shot head on! The hit pushed him back a few yards, but it looked like he remained unharmed. "Not bad, but how about this?" Soon, Epsilon was surrounded by a beam of moonlight. "ECLIPSE SHADOW!" A black wave surrounded Knuckles, and blocked out the moonlight shining on him! Knuckles tried to move, but he suddenly felt incredibly weak, and fell to the ground! "Hey! What did you just do?" he demanded. "I simply separated you from the light of the moon, my friend." Epsilon explained. "No more energy absorbing for you, I'm afraid."

"I'll make you pay for that!" Knuckles said loudly. Epsilon didn't look worried. "Ha, ha, ha! Not if I finish you first, Knucklehead!" Now Knuckles was angry! "DON'T CALL ME THAT!" Then a voice came out of nowhere. "Yeah! Only I can call him that!" Epsilon was surprised! "Who said that? Who's there?" Epsilon look behind him, and saw four figures standing on top of a still standing column. I'm sure you know who! "Well, well, well. If it isn't the other ancient warriors. Tomias, Celestia, Jurik, and Saiuka!" That's right. Espio, Rouge, Vector, and Amy had just arrived! "So, you all dare to challenge me, eh?" Epsilon asked. "Got that right, imposter!" Vector snapped back. "Guys! Take out that copycat! I'll go and free Knux!" "Right!" the three said in unison. Vector jumped down to the dark barrier imprisoning Knuckles. "Vector…hurry. This thing… is sucking me dry!" Knuckles said weakly. "Hang on, budsman!" Vector raised his sword. "ELECTRIC SLASH!" Vector struck against the barrier wall. 'WHAM!' But it had no effect! "That won't stop me!" he insisted. He began to strike the barrier wall with his blade over and over again, like a hammer. But not even a dent was made!

Meanwhile, the rest of the gang had surrounded Epsilon! "THREE STAR STRIKE!" "CHARM OF HEAVEN!" "RADIANCE ENERGY!" Their attacks hit head on with a 'BOOOOM!' The dust cleared slowly. But as soon as it did, Epsilon was gone! "Did it work?" Amy asked. "Guess again, missy!" The three looked up, and saw Epsilon hovering right above him! He pointed his hands down toward them. Espio jumped aside. "Everyone! Scatter!" Too late… "NIGHTMARE CHAINS!" Black bolts of lightning shot from Epsilons hands, and tied up Amy, Espio, and Rouge like restraints! "AAAGGHH! We can't move!" Rouge shouted. "HA! Glad to hear it!" Epsilon cackled. Then he glance at Vector. He was still hammering away at the dark barrier draining Knuckles' energy! "I almost got it, bro!" "GET AWAY FROM HIM!" Epsilon shouted. He grabbed Vector by the neck! "AAACK!" And threw him into the others, who were still tied up. "HE'S MINE!" "Leave him alone, creep!" Rouge shouted to him. "Ha, ha, ha! I think not, missy. However, lets make your final hour interesting, shall we?" Epsilon held out his hand, and what happened next shocked everyone! The four Cataclysmic Emerald shards that had been gathered, flew away from the gang, and into his hands!

" 'Gasp' NOOOO!" They all shouted in unison. Epsilon held the shards in his hands. "My brethren, you have failed to survive your battles, but you will still help me destroy these cursed warriors!" Knuckles was getting weaker by the second, but could still see what had happened. "Don't count on winning, freak! I'll destroy you first!" "HA! You foolish little gnat!" Epsilon boasted. "Maybe if you had used your negative energy for evil like all the other minions of darkness, you wouldn't be near death right now!" Knuckles' eyes gave a stern gaze of disgust. "I would rather die, than become the likes of YOU!" "HA HA HA HA HA! That's fine with me, because now I have these!" The shards of the emerald vanished, as Epsilon slowly absorbed them into his body! He let out a massive shock wave of energy! 'FWAAAAAAAMMM!' "Whoa!" But Vector had stood up. "ASTRAL SHIELD!" His sword had created a shield just in time, protecting Amy, Rouge, Espio, and himself from the shock wave! But the ruins began to crumble from the force! Epsilon was now surrounded by a large energy aura! And his form began to change. He still looked like Darconda, but his shoulder became spiked, and his eyes glowed bright red! His body grew half his original size, too! "HA HA HA HA HA! MARVOLOUS POWER, ALL AT MY COMAND! SOON YOUR PRECIOUS WORLDS WILL BE AT MY MERCY! HA HA HA HA HA!"

Knuckles had too much of his energy drained. He fell, unconscious. "KNUCKLES!" Rouge shouted toward him. She looked up at Vector, as he still held his sword holding up the barrier. "Hey, you! You're not tied up like us! Do something! Help Knuckles!" Vector struggled. "Ican't! This guy's energy waves are too powerful! I'm using all I've gotjust to shield it!" "You'd be wise to give up, weaklings!" Epsilon said in a new, deeper voice. "Soon no one will be able to match my strength! AND YOUR WORLDS WILL BE OURS, AT LAST!" Amy trembled in fear. "Now I REALLY wish Sonic was hear…" Knuckles still laid in the dark barrier, motionless. All he could do, was hear his own thoughts… 'I'm sorry, everyone…I've failed…I gave that jerk all I had…And it wasn't enough…I have no strength left………It's over…'

'_I have faith in you, Knuckles_…' "What?" Knuckles heard a faint voice. '_Please don't give up_…' "……Julie-Su?" Back on Mobius, in Echidnaopolis, Julie-Su stood on top of the same building from where Knuckles had first teleported away from. She gazed up at the full moon hanging in the night sky. "Knuckles, I don't know where you've disappeared to. But if you've been gone this long, I know it must be important. Whatever you're doing, I have faith in you, that you will succeed. Please come back to me safely…I know you will……" Knuckles' eyes suddenly opened! He gathered whatever strength remained within him, and stood up. He then clenched his fist, and punched directly at the dark barrier. It shattered on contact! 'KKSSSSHHHH!' Everyone turned around, and saw Knuckles up on his feet. Epsilon stared in amazement. "How could you have any energy, left?"

_I have no such things as weak spots.  
The blood of my ancestors flows inside me.  
My duty is to save the flower,  
From evil deterioration!_

Knuckles didn't answer him. He just gave him an angry glare. Epsilon grinned menacingly. "So, you want to go down fighting, eh?" Knuckles still didn't answer. He stood perfectly still, glaring at him. "Fine then." Epsilon said. "Just stand there. At least it'll be easier for me to finish you off!" Rouge struggled in her restraints. "Knuckles! RUN! GET AWAY!" She could see he was still not strong enough to hold his own. "Wait! Please don't!" she begged to Epsilon. "You've already proved your stronger than him! And the one he loves is waiting for him! Please……spare his life…" She felt so weak. Epsilon turned his focus to Rouge. "Can this pathetic quitter really mean that much to all of you?" "You have no idea HOW MUCH!" Vector shouted at him. "Same here!" said Amy and Espio in unison. Epsilon paid no attention to them. "Well, don't be worried. You'll all be joining him, very soon! It appears he won't be alone, IN DEATH! HA HA HA HA HA!" "NOOOOOOOOO!" Rouge shouted at the top of her lungs!

Epsilon held out his hand! "PYRO TORRENT!" A blast of fire shot from his arm! "That's Delta's attack!" Vector shouted. It hit Knuckles head on, as he disappeared within the flames! He didn't move an inch. Soon, only smoke was left. Rouge and Amy stared in shock, and began to cry. Espio and Vector fell to the ground, feeling that they had lost their good friend. "Now it's your turn…" Epsilon said evilly. But just then… 'KKSSSSSHHHH!' "WHAT?" Suddenly, two of the emerald shards Epsilon absorbed, shot out of his body! "AAAAGGHH!" And they disappeared into the smoke. "Impossible! The shards powers should only respond to ME!" But everyone looked up as the smoke cleared. Knuckles stood before them, unharmed! He was glowing within a golden yellow aura! And he was holding the green and indigo shards! "IT'S YOU!" Epsilon shouted in surprise! "IT'S YOU! YOUR CAUSING THIS!" "Got that right, shady! Now how about I pay you back for making me look like a weakling?" He held up the indigo shard. "DARKNESS WAVE!" A black energy beam struck Epsilon head on! 'BAAM!' "AAAAAGGHH!" "That was Beta's attack!" Rouge noticed.

Epsilon began to look reeeaaally angry! "You…YOU WILL NOT DEFEAT ME! DARKNESS CAN NEVER BEAT DARKNESS!" "Let's just see about that!" Knuckles said strongly. Epsilon then formed and black, onyx sword in his right hand! Knuckles did the same, as a yellow, golden sword formed in his hand as well! The two stood still……then, "SPIRE BARRAGE!" Suddenly, a wall of spiked stone spears appeared behind Epsilon! "Hey! Now he's using Alpha's attack!" Espio saw. "TAKE THIS!" Epsilon shouted. But all Knuckles did was make a swift slash with his sword! "HIYAAA!" All the spears had broken apart in front of him! "LOOK OUT!" Amy screamed! Knuckles saw Epsilon running straight toward him! "I'VE GOT YOU!" The two slashed their blades at each other simultaneously! They screamed in unison! "SPECTRE SWORD!" "HIYAAA!" "HIYAAA!" 'SLASH!'

The two combatants stood perfectly stiff, backs to one another. Vector, Amy, Espio, and Rouge stared in shock, and a large cut was shown on Knuckles' cloak! "No…" Rouge whispered, as a small tear formed in her eye. But just then, the gang's eyes widened, as the cut suddenly vanished! "What the?" Knuckles couldn't believe it. He was unharmed! "Then that must mean…" Everyone turned their focus to Epsilon, who was still standing stiff. He muttered a few words to himself. "…Darconda…Fueled by darkness, yet sides with the light…Well done, White Wizard…" he slowly turned around, facing Knuckles and his friends. "A warrior of the dark, that can fight for what's right…that IS clever." Everyone looked as his body began to deteriorate before them! "Well done…You've won, boy…" As soon as he was gone, a yellow shard appeared in his place.

Knuckles walked over, and picked up the shard, as the others ran toward him. "My budsman! Ya did it!" Vector said. "Now THAT was impressive!" Espio admitted. Rouge and Amy were too busy laughing with relief and hugging him to say anything. Rouge looked into Knuckles' eyes. "How did you DO that?" "Yeah! What made you get all hyped up, Knux?" Amy asked. Knuckles smirked, and muttered a laugh. "Let's just say that a cheerleader from the sidelines gave me the pep talk I needed!" The five of them each held up the jewel shards they had gathered. "Were almost done!" Vector said feeling pleased. Knuckles began to walk. "Now, let's go find Sonic and Tails, guys!" "YEEAAH!"

_I was born like this, to fear no one.  
I'm straight thugged out, I only live to my ones.  
Diamonds and gems, we can battle to the end.  
You best to be aware of the Knuckles that I send.  
Once they penetrate, they'll punch you to your death.  
Their hard as iron, and my feet are like fire.  
You'll never see me run, and I won't surrender.  
I'll just fly away, like it's no other contender!_

Five spirits defeated, two remaining. This is getting good… (A/N: Lyrics from "Unknown From M.E." Sonic Adventure 2 Soundtrack)


	10. The Call

Sorry about the delay, folks. I was in a bit of a writer's block. But I managed to continue. As always, I only own Necronos, the spirits, and the warriors. The rest belong to Sega and/or Archie. Now, time for Chapter 10! 

The Sky Sanctuary Zone: A towering, sacred temple floating miles into the sky (it's name says it all). The temple was made up of high towers, turntables, collapsible bridges, and teleporting orbs. It appeared to be the perfect place to find (you guessed it), Tails! He was slowly hovering above the Zone wearing his assortment of armor: a spiked, steel headband, pairs of metal plated arm and leg guards, and metallic, green colored chest plate. He held in his hands his metal staff with the curved blade at the end. He truly looked like a warrior of the sky!

Tails couldn't help but feel excited. "Man, this goes way beyond tight! Not only do I look incredibly awesome, but I also don't need the tornado to help me in air combat now!" He swarmed the Zone searching for one of the two remaining Catalyst spirits, felling confident that he could hold his own against them. But just then, a thought crossed his mind. 'Although, I was able to beat Shadow while he was under the spirits' control, will I really be tough enough to defeat one of the actual spirits?' He continued swarming the Zone for any sign of a presence.

Forty minutes later, Tails perched himself atop a tower overlooking many of the Zone's floating platforms. He was a little out of breath. "Whew! It's been quite a while since I last flew around for such a long time. I almost forgot how tiring it could be." It took him a few minutes, but Tails was able to shake off his exhaustion. He hovered down to one of the teleporting orbs. "Why I haven't found a spirit yet? I searched every area of this Zone, and that's a challenge itself! Why isn't a spirit here!" Then, Tails heard a sound come from the orb in front of him. It sounded like a 'click'. "What? What was that?" He moved closer to it to get a better look. Suddenly, a small whirlwind came out of the orb! "Hey!" Tails was swallowed within the wind! "LET ME GO!" Too late. No matter how much Tails struggled, he couldn't break free! And found himself being pulled closer and closer to the orb! "NO! WAIT!" But as soon as Tails had touched the orb, a blinding flash engulfed him! When it cleared, he had vanished…

The Wacky Workbench Zone: A humongous technological stadium filled with countless gimmicks and machinery. From floating platforms to ice spraying air ducts, shocking electric conduits to pumping pistons. And to top it all off, an electric pulse emitting floor that can launch anyone standing on it sky high! Tails slowly opened his eyes, dazed and confused. He couldn't tell what had just happened. What surprised him was the fact that he was suddenly warped to another Zone! "Whoa! How the heck did I end up HERE? That whirlwind from the orb must have transported me out of Sky Sanctuary altogether!" But he was still confused. The orbs in the Sky Sanctuary Zone could only transport people to a different location in the Zone itself. Not to a completely different Zone! Something wasn't right…

Suddenly, Tails heard a faint sound. "Huh? What's that?" It was a ringing sound. It was coming from above his head. He quickly picked up his staff, and began to hover upward. Tails slowly maneuvered passed the multiple platforms hovering in his path. He stopped after passing three large platforms. As soon as he landed, he noticed the sound was getting louder. Tails looked around the area, and saw something on his right. "What the?" It looked like a small, yellow telephone, sitting in a small booth. "That must have been what was ringing." Tails walked slowly toward it. It was still ringing as he moved closer. He placed his hand on the phone. He felt very nervous, but couldn't help himself. He picked up the handle. "Hello?" Silence. "Hello?" No answer. "Hello? Who is this?" "…………I knew you'd answer my call…" said an eerie, deep voice. "Who is this? What's going on?" "…………I knew you'd answer my call…" Tails began to feel freaked out. "Who are you? What do you want?...ANSWER ME!" "………...I've been waiting for you, Horu-San…………." "What's going on?" Why won't you ANSWER ME?" "…………I've been waiting for you……I've been waiting for you……I've been waiting for you…………" 'Click!'

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Suspenseful, isn't it? I need time to continue writing this part of the story, unfortunately. So I decided to leave you hanging at this point, for a few days at least. Hope you can hang in there…R&R! 


	11. The Phantom

Well, my writer's block is finally beginning to clear (about time, eh?). As usual, I only own Necronos, the warriors and spirits. Now for chapter 11. But first, a cliché narrator recap:

* * *

There will always be a free planet Mobius, but there may not always be a free planet Mobius Z. The reason is that when Shadow the hedgehog accidentally discovered and shattered an ancient gemstone, the Cataclysmic Emerald, he unfortunately released the seven spirits of a dark demon named Catalyst, who had been sealed away for 6000 years! Shortly after their escape, Necronos, a master of purity magic, summoned seven heroes of Mobius: Sonic, Tails, Knuckles, Amy Rose, Vector, Rouge, and Espio. Necronos explained to them that the seven of them were, in their past lives, the seven apprentices of the White Wizard, who originally split Catalyst into his seven entities. He then bestowed upon them, the same magical powers, and cool wardrobes they once had so long ago.

Soon, our heroes learned that the spirits had taken refuge on the new planet Mobius Z, which was made up of all the Zones that had once existed on Mobius. Necronos sent the seven of them to the planet, while he stayed behind to keep the spirits' increasing negative energy at bay. So far, Espio, Rouge, Vector, Amy, and Knuckles have each defeated one of the Catalyst spirits, and recovered a shattered piece of the Cataclysmic Emerald.

And last time, as you may recall, Tails was in search of the sixth spirit in the Sky Sanctuary Zone, only to have suddenly be warped to the Wacky Workbench Zone. And right where I left off, Tails had answered a strange phone call form a voice saying he had been waiting for him………LET'S CONTINUE:

* * *

Tails hung up the phone, feeling very freaked out. "Who the heck was THAT?" He then perched himself at the edge of a platform overlooking the wide, mechanical warehouse. "Whoever it was must be somewhere in this Zone. I'd better find him before he finds ME!" With that, he grabbed his staff, and began to hover around the higher altitudes of the Zone (which were mostly blocked by vertically dangling steel bars).

He was about to rest when… "THREE STAR STRIKE!" Tails stopped, and watched as three shurikens flew right in front of his face! "WHOA!" Tails looked around. "HEY! Who threw those?" He looked to his downward right, and saw what looked like, Espio! He was standing on a lower platform. Tails was glad to see a friendly face. Well, sort of. "Hey Espio! If you want to get my attention, how about just shouting to me next time! You almost got me with those things!" But Espio didn't answer. He just stood there, glaring at Tails angrily. "Hey Espio? What's the matter?" He still glared at him, not moving. "Hello? What's wrong with you?" Suddenly, he leaped up into the air, and looked like he was about to attack! "HEY WAIT!" It was too late. "STRIKE OF THE TEN STARS!" Just then, one shuriken heading straight toward Tails turned into ten! They all hit him head on! "AAAAAAGGGGHHHH!"

Tails fell onto another platform. He was hurt very badly. He slowly opened his eyes, and saw Espio looking down at him. "Wha-what are you DOING? I'm on YOUR side, remember?" But then, Tails took a closer look at Espio. His costume and body was pitch black! And his eyes were glowing bright red! "HEY! YOU'RE NOT ESPIO! WHO ARE YOU?" He still didn't answer. He just gathered his strength, and kicked Tails right off the platform! 'WHAM!' "HEEEEEEEEEEEEYYYYY!" Tails began to plummet down toward the electrified floor of the Zone.

Now off-hand, most would believe that Tails would be fine, because landing on the electrified floor of the Wacky Workbench Zone would simply shoot someone high into the air. But unfortunately, at the rate Tails was falling, in his weakened condition, there was no chance that he would survive the fall! Knowing this, Tails tried his best to gather whatever strength he had left within him. 12 seconds until impact, he focused all his remaining energy on his tails, and they began to spin. Just a little more effort and he could fly upward to safety. 6 seconds until impact! 5……Tails' eyes opened wide. 4……He tightened all his muscles. 3……His tails began to spin faster and faster. 2……And… 1…………… HE MADE IT!

Tails sharply flew upward away from the floor! "Whew, I'm OK!" he said in relief. But he wasn't relieved for long, for at that moment the dark Espio figure was flying right toward him and………FLYING? He must be an imposter! Tails knew now that he couldn't hold back anymore. So as he flew up toward him, he removed his spiked headband, and used the same attack he had used on Shadow back in chapter 4: "BOOMERANG BLADE!" The headband spun like a saw blade, and hit the shady figure head on! 'BAM!' "AAAAARRRGGHH!" The figure, not being able to hold his position any longer, fell right passed Tails! When Tails had finally reached a platform to rest, he looked down at his opponent. He watched as he fell farther and farther down the Zone until he disappeared from sight completely!

Tails couldn't help but wonder, "Who, or what was that?" But before he could think of an answer, he heard a faint humming sound. Tails turned around and saw…a void! It looked like the same one that had warped him to the Zone in the first place! "Oh, no you don't! Not again!" But just like last time, the force of the void was too strong to resist again, and he soon disappeared inside it once more! "AGH! WHY DOES THIS ALWAYS HAPPEN TO MEEEEEEEEE?..." As soon as Tails disappeared from sight, a sinister laughter filled the Zone. 'Hahahahahahahahahahahahaha………"

* * *

So now what? Tails has once again disappeared, the rest of the team has yet to find him or Sonic, and what about the mysterious imposter? Is he really gone? What do YOU think? Be with me next time! R&R! 


	12. The Sixth Spirit: Man Behind The Curtain

You know I only own Necronos, the warriors, and spirits. And the others belong to Sega/Archie. For any of you readers have been following Tails through the last couple of chapters, you might be thinking, WHAT THE HECK IS GOING ON HERE? Well, now you will find out! Time for chapter 12:

* * *

The Carnival Night Zone: A bright city with flashing lights everywhere, glowing through a perpetual night. This place is scattered with spinning wheels, balloons, anti-gravity platforms, and electric based robots! In the middle of all the noise and excitement, a void opened on top of a small platform. And…..you guessed it! Tails popped out of it! He landed on the ground with a 'THUD!' "UUGGGHH!"

Holding his blade staff, he began to stand up. "OK! That's IT! Who the heck keeps doing this to me? I've been warped through two Zones already, been beaten by a creepy imposter of one of my friends, and now I'm here!" He looked at his surroundings. "Who's responsible for this? Who are you?" Then Tails heard a faint sound. It sounded like……laughing. "Hahahahahahahahaha" Tails became angry. "Who's out there? What do you think this is? A GAME?" Suddenly…… "I guess you can say that! YES! HA HA HA !" Tails suddenly looked up, and saw a dark figure above him. He looked like, a dark, creepy jester! (To be more descriptive: he was a spitting image of Reala, from 'Nights Into Dreams'!)

Tails was surprised. "And, who might you be?" The jester answered. "Allow me to introduce myself. Zeta Catalyst, at your service! My card!" He held up an Ace of Spades. Tails sweat dropped. "Ok…Answer me one question." "Shoot!" Zeta answered. "Are you the one responsible for sending me through this crazy trip!" Zeta cackled evilly. "HA HA HA HA HA! That's right, Horu-san! I'm the one who warped you to the Wacky Workbench Zone, and then to here!" "I had a feeling you were!" Tails said angrily.

"Oh…don't be so bitter." Zeta said back. "After all, jesters like myself always love to have fun! We can't help ourselves (it's a hobby)." Tails then realized. "So, is that why we're now in the Carnival Night Zone? Now I get it!" Zeta laughed again. "Ha, ha, ha. Of course you do! There are lots of ways to have fun here. Floating on the anti-gravity platforms, spinning on the black wheels, bouncing off the balloons, the works!" Tails began to look annoyed. "You know, most villains don't find things like that amusing, nor do they enjoy having fun." Zeta just grinned menacingly. "Well, you should know that people like me have many different ways to have fun." He paused for a moment. "And what would really be fun to me…………is, IF I DESTROY YOU!"

Tails then stood on guard. "Oh yeah? Well just try it, chuckles!" Zeta raised his hands into the air. "Don't mind if I do. I call upon you to destroy Horu-San! Come forth my minions!" Just then, from the red and white spinning pole behind him, four dark figures appeared! All pitch black with red glowing eyes. Tails stared in shock, for he recognized the one on the far left automatically! "HEY! It's that Espio imposter!" It was true. And the rest looked familiar as well, for the three others looked like dark versions of Rouge, Vector, and Amy! They all wore the same ancient warrior outfits. "How do you like my soldiers, Horu-san? It's your friends, and they're all dying to play with you………until you DIE that is…HAHAHAHAHA!"

Tails was still a bit shocked, but wasn't afraid. "They may look my friends, but that won't stop me from defeating them…and YOU!" Zeta just snickered. "Well, have it your way, shorty! You heard him, my friends! GO GET 'EM!" The dark figures began to approach Tails, each looking more and more menacing. The dark Vector attacked first! "STORM OF SHARDS!" A barrage of crystal shards were flying straight at Tails. But he jumped up out of the way just before impact, and began to hover toward him. "Take this!" But before he could counter, the dark Rouge appeared right behind him! "WHA-" "CRIMSON WHIP!" And with a crack of her glowing whip, Tails was caught! "AAAAGGHH!" "LET ME GO!" Of course, she didn't listen. Suddenly, the dark Amy came out of nowhere! "EMERALD BLAZE!" A green energy blast fired from her wand, and hit Tails directly! "AAAAGGHH!" Zeta just floated above and laughed humorously. "BWA HA HA HA HA! This is better than I thought it would be! I should sell tickets! HA HA HA HA!"

Tails fell to the ground. He looked up hazily, and watched as the dark Espio crept closer toward him. "Now I'll finish you off like I should have before!" he said in a creepy version of Espio's voice. He got out a shuriken, and held it like a knife, obviously planning to slash at Tails. But suddenly, Tails remembered his special ability that Necronos told him about! He held out his hand, and his metal plated arm guard began to glow! "Wha-what is this?" the dark Espio wondered. Just then, the guard shot from Tails' arm, and struck the dark Espio right in the face! 'POW!' "OOOOOWWWW!" as he stumbled backward, the guard returned to Tails' arm. He then got up, and turned his attention to the other dark ones. They all stared in surprise. Tails then jumped into the air, until he was in the middle of all of them. He held his arms and legs out, and puffed out his chest. "METAL ROCKETS!" Tails' armor then shot off his body, and into the four opponents surrounding him! 'POW!' "AAAGGHH!" 'WHAM!' "OOOOWWW!" 'BAM!' "OOOFFF!" 'POW!' "AAARRRGGGGH!" Once they all fell after impact, the armor retracted, and formed on Tails' body again!

Zeta stared at Tails. "Interesting……I was wondering when he would fight back." Tails hovered to the ground, and watched as the four dark warriors struggled to stand up. The dark Espio looked very angry! "You just don't know when to stay down, don't you?" "Actually, I do……NEVER!" Tails said back. Not wanting to waste all his energy fighting these four imposters, he decided to be rid of them right now! He held his staff vertically, and began to spin around in place. "What are you doing!" the dark Espio demanded. Tails didn't answer. He just continued to spin faster, and faster! Soon, a whirlwind began to form around him. Then it grew bigger, and bigger, until it was no smaller than a full-sized tornado! "CYCLONIC TRAP!" The dark Rouge, Vector, and Amy couldn't fight the suction force, and disappeared within the eye! "WHOOOOOOAAAAAAAA!" they wailed in unison. Tails stopped spinning, but the tornado didn't! It began to move away form the Zone, farther and farther away until it disappeared over the horizon.

The dark Espio stood in shock! "Such…such power! How is it possible for him to control such power over mere wind!" He turned around and stared in surprise, for Tails was glowing in an orange colored aura! "Don't you get it? I'm Horu-san, the warrior of the sky! The wind is like my best friend!" The dark Espio just looked even angrier! "Well, I don't need those three to kill you!" He ran straight toward Tails, and performed a jump kick! "I GOT YOU!" But, then… 'GRAB!' "WHA-?" "On the contrary. I got you!" Tails had grabbed his leg in midair! "NO!" Tails began to spin rapidly again, like a top. After reaching his top speed……he let go! "WHOOOOOOOoooooooooaaaaaaaaaa…" And the dark Espio disappeared, flying over the horizon.

Tails felt relieved that THAT was over, until he heard a faint clapping sound. He looked up, and saw Zeta, grinning while clapping his hands slowly. "What a performance, Horu-san. Have you ever thought of going into show business?" Tails just gave him a stern gaze and pointed his staff's blade at his opponent. "No more games, joker! Are you gonna stop being a coward and fight me?" Zeta jumped down, and landed seven feet away form Tails. "I thought you'd never ask! After all, I believe it's time I had some REAL fun! How about a new game, Horu-san?" Tails looked a little worried about what he had in mind. "What kind of game?" Zeta answered. "A duel among the Zone's most fun and exciting attractions! After all, fighting in one location can be so boring! First one dead, loses! Sound fair?" Tails sweat dropped. "I figured that……" "Well then, let's get this party started!" 'ZZZZZZAAAAAAPPP!'

When Tails opened his eyes, he saw him and Zeta standing on a horizontal, red and white striped pole! "Round One! A sword fight while balancing! You lose your balance first, YOU LOSE!" Tails saw Zeta hold out his right hand, and watched as a lance formed into his fingers! He began to wave it around wildly. "ENGUARDE! TOUCHE! CAFÉ AU LAIT! ZOOT ZOOT!" Tails stared in confusion. "Are you gonna fight, or what!" "Well, if you insist!" Then, Zeta stood still for a moment. Suddenly, he dashed toward Tails at an incredible speed! He jabbed his lance right at Tails' chest plate! Tails was able to dodge just in time! He dove to his right. If he was just one millisecond slower, he would've been stabbed! But Zeta reversed his direction quickly, and attacked again! He slashed downward, but Tails blocked with his staff's blade at the last possible second! 'CLANG!' Before he could react, Zeta shot his leg forward, and kicked Tails right on his chest plate! 'POW!' "OOOOOOFFFF!" Tails fell back on the pole. The wind was knocked out of him…HARD! He managed to get back up, and tried to counter with a slash of his blade. But Zeta just jumped clear over him, and landed right behind Tails! He turned his head, and saw Zeta's hand light up with an energy orb! "NEGA-FORCE!" His attack hit Tails' back point blank! "AAAAGGHH!" Tails flew forward by the attack's force, fell off the pole to the platform below, and landed right on his face! Ouch! "HA! Thought I was all fun and games, eh?" Tails was too hurt to answer. 'He's much more powerful than he let on! He made me let my guard down by acting silly!' He thought to himself. 'I think I'm in trouble…' 'ZZZZZZAAAAAAPPP!'

Tails opened his eyes again, and found Zeta and himself in another location. It appeared to be an elevator with a checkered floor moving downward. "This seems familiar…" Tails said to himself. "I'll bet it does!" Zeta answered. "Look up!" Tails actually listened to him, and looked up. But when he did, he was shocked at what he saw! A green colored drill machine began to descend until it floated a few feet above their heads! "It's the machine me and Sonic fought when we first came here!" Zeta just grinned evilly again. "A nice touch, don't you think? Round two! Close combat, while the drill destroys the floor below us! And you can use a weapon only once. You fall through the floor first, YOU LOSE!" Tails stood ready. "Alright! Bring it on!" Tails grabbed a firm grip on his staff, and began to spin it rapidly. "SPIN CUTTER!" He threw his spinning staff right at his opponent. But the drill's blade flew off the machine, and knocked the staff out of its trajectory! "WHAT!" Zeta laughed. "Ha ha ha! Well, I'm afraid you've used up your one chance at using a weapon!" Tails looked disappointed. "But…that's just not fair!" Zeta didn't seem to care. "What do you mean? There's no rule saying that the drill could block attacks!" "There should be." Tails said to himself.

The drill's blade began to cut away at the floor below the two combatants. Time was running out! Not having his staff anymore, Tails was forced to fight the old fashioned way. He spun his tails to hover, and performed a flying tackle right into Zeta! 'BAM!' His opponent flew right into the wall. 'WHAM!' Unfortunately, he recovered quickly. "Wow! You sure pack a wallop, kid!" Zeta countered with what appeared to be a spinning technique. He raised his arms straight up, held out his right leg, and spun like a top. A top with a strong kick! 'POW!' "OOOOFFFF!" Tails fell to the floor, as the drill blade landed right in front of him! It missed him by no less than an inch. He sweat dropped in relief. "WHEW! That was too close…" He looked up, and saw Zeta holding……a stack of playing cards? Tails just stared in disbelief. "If you think I'm scared of that-" But Zeta threw an Ace of Spades clear past his face. 'CHING!' Tails paused, and watched as a few strands of his fur slowly fell to the floor! "-you'd be right!" he finished, while trembling. Zeta smiled. "I just love a good game of poker! Shall I deal for you?" He drew a few cards from his stack. "TWO PAIR!" Four cards flew right at Tails' head! "WHOA!" He ducked just in time! They flew right over his head, cutting down a few more strands of his fur. 'Those are sharp!' he noticed. "THREE OF A KIND!" Three more cards shot right toward him! But this time, Tails flew right behind the drill machine still floating above them, and the cards bounced off its steel cover. "FULL HOUSE!" Now five cards headed right for him! They each struck a different piece of armor on Tails' body. 'CHING!' 'CLANG!' 'PING!' Tails wasn't hurt, but the force of each hit shook him up good!

"HEY! WAITAMINUTE! You said we could only use one weapon to fight with!" Tails remembered. "How come YOU get to use a whole stack?" Zeta just waved his finger. "Ah, ah, ah! You don't see, do you? One stack of cards equals one weapon!" Tails didn't like that logic. "Don't loopholes rock?" Zeta asked rhetorically. But Tails knew he was smarter than this clown. He knew he could think of a way to win. He looked and noticed the drill machine's electrodes begin to activate. That's when he got an idea! But he had to act fast, because the floor was almost about to break completely! "Loopholes only rock when you know how to use them wisely, Zeta!" "OH?" Zeta asked curiously. "How so?" Tails began to demonstrate. "Well, you know that the drill blade and the machine itself function together, right?" Zeta agreed. "True, true." Tails then grabbed one of the razor cards Zeta threw. "So, if the machine were to suffer a malfunction…" Suddenly, Tails threw the card right at the machine's electrodes! 'BLAST!' "…then so will the drill blade!" "WHAT?" Zeta stared in shock as the blade began to spin wildly! It bounced off the walls like mad, and headed straight toward his feet! "NO, NO! GET AWAY!" Too late! The drill hit the floor where he stood, causing it to collapse! 'CRASH!' Zeta fell through the floor and began to plummet down the tunnel. "WHOOOOAAAAAA!" "HA! Looks like I win!" Tails said, feeling victorious. 'ZZZZZZAAAAAAPPP!'

But before Tails could celebrate, he noticed that he was transported again. Now he stood on the highest point in the Zone. He gazed down and couldn't believe how high the highest point was! He could see all the flashing lights and contraptions below, but all that was up to where he was, were a few spinning drums and wheels, that didn't spin (for who knows why?). Tails would've looked around more, but his focus suddenly turned toward……ZETA! He was still here! "What? But I-" Now Tails was scared. For Zeta didn't look very cheerful anymore. For the first time, Tails saw him with an angry scowl on his face! "You……How dare you try to ruin my fun!" Tails never thought he could look so…angry. "No one tries to ruin my fun, and LIVES!" Tails was a little annoyed hearing that. "Hey! That's what you get for creating dark warriors impersonating my friends, making me look weak, and forcing me to play your idiotic games!" Suddenly, Zeta's scowl faded, and he began to laugh manically! "Hmhmhm! HA HA HA HA HA HA HA! Well I hope you're happy NOW! I'm THREW playing games with YOU, HORU-SAN! I think it's time I finished you for good! He, he, he…"

Tails' eyes suddenly widened in fright! "'Gasp!' Your power!...It's SKYROCKETING!" Tails could sense his energy rising higher and higher! He watched in horror as Zeta held out his hands, and a small red energy orb began to form. Then it slowly grew bigger, and bigger, and bigger! Until one minute later, Tails was staring at Zeta holding a red energy orb the size of twenty foot wide boulder! TWENTY FEET WIDE! He couldn't move, for he was frozen wit fear. Zeta was on the other side of the immense orb of energy. He snickered hysterically. "Hmhmhmhm…Say goodbye, Hour-san! PLASMA BOMB!" The energy orb began to descend right on top of Tails! "NO! I've got to stop this!" Not having many options, he did the only thing he could think of. He held his staff out in front of him horizontally, and used it as a guard. The orb reached him and touched against the staff. Tails suddenly found himself being pushed back! "Eeeeeeerrrrrrrrgggggghhhh!" He pushed against it with all his strength, but was still sliding backward! 'There's no way I can push this thing off…He's become too powerful…I never stood a chance against him after all……It looks like I'm finished……'

'Do you really give up?' 'Are you surrendering?' 'After all you've been through?' Those voices……they sound familiar. 'Chosen one…don't you remember all you've been taught?' 'All that we've showed you?' 'What about your friends, and the ones you love?' 'If you give in, won't they give in as well?' 'You've come so far, and done so much.' 'You've done most would describe impossible.' 'Will you now chose to let darkness reign?' Do you not remember your destiny……to bring hope to the world when needed?' …………… 'HAVE YOU FORGOTTEN?'

Tails' eyes suddenly shot open! "NO!...NO I HAVEN'T!" Tails gathered all the strength that remained inside of him, and pushed against the gigantic energy orb as hard as he could……and, it began to move back! "WHAT? THIS IS IMPOSSIBLE!" Zeta couldn't believe his eyes! "YOU'RE SUPPOSED TO BE DEAD!" Tails didn't listen. He then grabbed a firm grip on his staff again, and gave it a huge swing like a bat! "TAKE THIS! HIYAAAA!" 'WHAM!' And with that hit, the enormous Plasma Bomb flew clear over Zeta's head, and disappeared over the horizon behind him! Zeta was shocked! "YOU! HOW? HOW COULD YOU?" But all he could do was stare in amazement, and Tails glowed in am orange colored aura again! "I have a destiny to fulfill. A destiny unlike any other! And I'll let NO ONE stand in my way! Especially YOU!" "No…it can't be!" That's all Zeta could say, as he watched Tails' blade staff begin to glow in a radiant light blue energy! "SUPERSONIC SABER!" A huge wave of blue energy fired from his blade, and made direct contact to its target! "NOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!" 'KSSSSSSSSSHHHHHH!' "AAAAAAAAAAAAAGGGGGGGGGGHHHHHHH!"

The light faded, and Tails landed softly back on the platform. "Whew……I did it? I did it! I WON! YES!" He then looked in front of him. And there, laying a few feet away, was an orange colored jewel shard! Tails walked over and picked it up. "Cool! Won't Sonic be proud!" "AHOY UP THERE!" Tails looked below him, and couldn't believe it! All his friends were down below! "Whatcha doin' way up there?" Knuckles asked jokingly. "Be right down!" Tails answered. He jumped down to his friends, and showed them the orange shard. And Amy gave him a big hug! "Yaaaaay! You did it! I knew you could!" "We all did!" said Vector. Everybody else nodded in agreement. "Thanks everyone!" But just then, a thought crossed his mind. "Hey guys? Where's Sonic?" Espio explained that they hadn't met up with him yet, and that he most likely run into the last Catalyst spirit. "Well then, LET'S GET GOING!" "YEEEEAAAAHHH!"

Meanwhile, many miles away, four familiar looking dark figures stood alone in the middle of a dark, barren field. Zeta's dark inions to be exact! "How could we have lost to a kid?" the dark Rouge complained. "Really!" the dark Amy agreed. "He made us look like total weaklings!" "Oh stop whining!" The dark Espio said loudly. The two of them turned their attention toward him. "Don't you see we made the mistake of underestimating him? He proved to be more powerful than us because we let our guard down!" "I'll never make that mistake again." Said the dark Rouge. "You won't have to!" The dark Amy turned toward the dark Espio. "Why? What do you mean?" He explained. "Are you doubting the power of master Zeta? Don't you see? If he uses his Plasma Bomb on that brat, he's as good as dead! I mean 'KABOOM!'" He finished. "So he's probably dead already! Ha ha ha!" The dark Amy still looked worried. "But, what about the other ancient warriors?" "HA! I have big plans for them!"

But what that plan was we may never know, for at that moment, the dark Vector returned and shouted…… "Guys! Guys! Master Zeta's Plasma Bomb is heading right this way!" "What? You me he's turned on us?" "I don't think so! I can't sense his presence anymore!" The dark Amy and Rouge were shocked! "It's a sign! Our master has fallen in battle. My friends. I say we stand for a moment of silence." The dark Amy suggested, "I say we send a wreath. Not too large though. What say you, D. Espio?" "I say…WE ALL RUN FOR OUR LIVES!" "What? Why?" "Because if that bomb hits us, it'll be 'KABOOM!' for all of us! And when I say kaboom-"………… 'KABOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOMMMMMM!" "I MEAN KABOOOOooooooooooommmmm!" And the four dark figures disappeared, soaring into the night sky.

Back on Mobius, Cream the Rabbit and Charmy Bee watched the stars in the night sky when…… "Now there's something you don't see everyday, Charmy." "What's that Cream?" "It looks like four people flying clear across the sky." "That's not unusual, Cream. Everyone flies nowadays." "………Without and airplane?" "Hmm…Must be one of those free champagne flights." "……Yeah…"

Well, it's down to this! Six spirits defeated, and only one spirit remaining! For at that same moment, in a different area of Mobius Z, a dark figure was secretly watching the last ancient warrior walking nearby. His name………Omega Catalyst!

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Be with me next time, folks! It'll be worth it! R&R! By the way, who can you guess were the voices talking to Tails? Any ideas? Just say so in your review, ok? I'll reveal who it was next time! Bye for now! 


	13. The Seventh Spirit: The Warrior's Wrath

I only own Necronos, the spirits and warriors. You all know that by now! Well, I got no responses about he voices talking to Tails last chapter, so I'll just reveal that now. It was the Ancient Walkers who were speaking to him. Do they ring a bell at all? Anyway, only one spirit remains! Time for the showdown you've been waiting for! Presenting: Chapter 13!

* * *

On the planet Mobius, chaos is everywhere! The negative energy released by the Catalyst spirits continues to cause devastation to the planet. Earthquakes rumble the ground. Tsunamis drown the cities. Cyclones wipe out anything in their path. But hope for survival remains! Ever since Sonic and his friends first arrived on Mobius Z to defeat the released spirits, Necronos, the master of purity magic has stayed behind to keep the negative energy from growing severe. He has saved many lives in danger, and stopped global apocalypse from occurring. However, he could feel himself becoming weaker and weaker by the second. "I have no idea how much longer I can keep this up!" he said to himself. "Please, my friends. Please hurry! Or your worlds may cease to exist at any moment!" But suddenly, Necronos sensed danger nearby. "Wha- who's there?" He turned around fast. "What the? How did you-? No! Stay back! Don't come near me! NOOOOOOO-!" 

_Well, I don't show off, don't criticize._

_I'm just livin' by my own feelings._

_And I won't give in, won't compromise._

_Cause I only have a steadfast heart of gold._

_I don't know why, I can't leave though it might be tough,_

_But I ain't out of control, just livin' by my word._

_Don't ask me why, I don't need a reason,_

_I got my way, my own way…_

_I doesn't matter, now what happens._

_I will never give up the fight._

_Long as the voice inside drives me to run and fight,_

_It doesn't matter who is wrong and who is right._

_Well, I won't look back, I don't need to._

_Time won't wait and I've got so much to do._

_Where do I stop, now it's all a blur and so unclear._

_Well, I don't know but I can't be wrong…_

_It doesn't matter, now what happens._

_I will never give up the fight._

_Long as the voice inside drives me to run and fight,_

_Place all your bets on the one you think is right._

The Metallic Madness Zone: A technological nightmarish land of pistons, spiked floors, and wild saw blades! The walls, the ceilings, the entire structure of the Zone is made up of metal and machinery. In the middle of this steel-plated landscape, one organic being was present. No other than, Sonic the Hedgehog! He stood tall as Tritaneon the five star centurion, the last of the White Wizard's ancient warriors. He wore his sapphire blue helmet, with a curved spike poking from the forehead area, and spiked back side matching his quills. His metal gloves held his golden triton lance. His red chest plate shined like a ruby, and curved around his body to form metal spikes on his back curving upward. And his shoes were a shining platinum.

Sonic began to wander the zone, in search of the last remaining Catalyst spirit. "Hmmm…I'm sure that one of those Cata-creeps is hiding around here somewhere. Or…I could be wasting my time walking around here aimlessly…….I'll go with the first part!" Sonic continued to trek across the Zone. The machinery around him ran like clockwork, which felt a little creepy having to hear it while walking all alone. Eventually, he stopped for a short break. Soon realizing that simply wandering around would get him nowhere, Sonic was forced to do something he didn't do too often: think logically! "Now if I were a sinister villain, which I'm not, I'd probably be hiding in the shadows watching my every move!"

Suddenly, a voice began to speak! "HAHAHAHAHAHA! Well now! For one who be not a dark hearted warrior, methinks ye might make quite an apt candidate!" Sonic heard that loud and clear, but saw no one! "Alright! Who said that? Where are ya?" The voice answered. "Hmph! Thou must be patient, knave! Thine impatience may yet prove to be thy greatest blunder!" Sonic looked confused. "Ok, I'm not sure what you just said, but how about showing yourself?" The voice returned. "Alas, a true warrior such as myself believes it necessary to test thy mental skill. Though thee searches in hopes to find thy goal, art thou too blind to spot thine's prize in yon darkness? Or dare I say, tis thy lack of optical resource that truly plagueth thou's mind?"

Now Sonic was a little annoyed. "Just what are you trying to say?" "I'm saying you're scared, you ninny! HAHAHA! You're afraid, that a foe you cannot see shall best thee!" Sonic decided to ignore the voice's insults and continue his search for his target. While trekking, he dodged hundreds of spinning saw blades, twirling sabers, and leaped across rotating platforms. "Alright. The first time I went through this, wasn't funny! This time, still not funny!" Eventually, Sonic found himself facing a dark hallway. "Hmm…I don't remember going through here before. But my guess is, it will lead me right to that creep who's hidin'!"

Sonic began to dash through the inky blackness of the hallway. Two minutes later, he still hadn't reached the end! "Boy, this is one loooooooong hallway! But I'm never one to let something like this get to me! I'm comin' for ya, gruesome!" The voice form earlier suddenly echoed through the hallway. "Hmhmhm! Do ast thou wish, young one!" "I always do!" Sonic answered back! Finally, light was seen shining at the exit. "Ready or not, I'm here!" When Sonic stepped through the exit, he took a moment to get his vision back. He then looked up. "Now where are you-WHOA!"

Sonic was no longer in the Metallic Madness Zone. He suddenly found himself standing inside and iced cavern within the Ice Cap Zone! "What the? How did I end up here?" Just then, a familiar laughing filled the large ice-walled chamber. "BWAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!" Sonic followed the sound and reached a tall icy wall. And as he gazed up at the top curiously, he finally found his target! A figure was dressed in a black and silver, spiked, suit of armor, like an evil knight! He wielded two matching blades in his hands, and his small red eyes glowed in the darkness inside of his helmet. Sonic was now focused. "Alright, pal! How about finally telling me who you are!" "BWAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!" "Yeah, I got that already. But what's your first name?" Sonic said back sarcastically. The knight spoke. "I, young warrior, am the gallant champion Omega Catalyst! Thou should consider thyself honored to stand in my presence. The presence of a fine warrior such as I!"

Now if there was one thing Sonic didn't like it was a villain who was bragged about himself. "Really? And just what makes you so 'gallant' as you say, Omega?" He just leaned down a little closer to Sonic. "Surly. If thou were as fine a warrior as who stands before ye, thou would understand. But alas. Methinks thou is not worthy of such a title!" Sonic looked insulted. "Hey! Do you have any idea who you're talking to? I happen to be the new Tritaneon, the five star centurion himself! Top that, helmet head!" Omega just laughed. "HAHAHAHAHA! Truly thou doth not suffer from low self esteem! Alas, warriors of the highest caliber, such as myself of course, have not only matchless combat skills, but also something that makes ourselves known throughout history…………a biography!"

That last line seemed to not get through Sonic. "Excuse me? Did I just hear you say, biography?" Omega looked down and reiterated. "Thou hear correctly. If thou were truly a fine warrior, thou should've at least written a book about thyself! Thou may learn a lesson of two if thou read one of great brilliance. For example, mine!" Sonic just sweat dropped. "Thanks, but no thanks! There are at least two things I'll NEVER do. 1) Pass up an opportunity to eat chili dogs for free! And 2) Take advice from a black-hearted villain!" Omega jumped from his perch and landed a few yards away from Sonic. "How unfortunate. Thou could really learn so much…" Sonic then raised trident staff, and pointed it right at his opponent. "Forget learning! I'd rather fight! SPEAR ASSAULT!"

With that, a bombardment of glowing arrows launched from Sonic's staff! Omega didn't move an inch. "HA! Gotcha!" But suddenly, Omega raised his right hand, and all of the arrows vanished within his metal glove! "WHAT THE?" Sonic couldn't believe his eyes! "Oh, you poor creature." Omega said. "If thou had listened to my advice, methinks thou would've known the best lesson in my First Chapter: my special powers!" Omega held out his left hand. "DARK MANIFESTATION!" A second later, a bombardment of black arrows fired directly at Sonic! "AH! NO!" Too late. The arrows struck all over Sonic's armor. "AH! AGH! UGH! AHHH!" Sonic fell on the icy ground. 'THUD!' "How…how did you do THAT?" he asked weakly. Omega stepped forward. "Your first lesson, my opponent. Chapter One: My Special Powers! What thou has just witnesses was merely a minuscule sample of my superior strength!" Sonic stood up again. "Well, I've got quite a few tricks up MY sleeve too!" Sonic pointed his staff at Omega once more. "ORB-O-THUNDER!" An electrical ball of energy fired from the spears on the end of the staff. But Omega just held out his right hand again, and Sonic's attack vanished! "Didst thou forget so soon? DARK MANIFESTAION!" A dark energy ball fired from Omega's left arm, and hit Sonic's chest plate head on! 'BOOOM!' "AAAAGGGGGHHH!"

Sonic fell again, and struggled to get back up on his feet. "Doth thou not see? Before thee stands a living mirror! Thy projectile attacks are useless!" Sonic stood back up, using his staff to hold him up. That last reflected attack took a lot out of him. "Well, that IS a nice trick, Omega. I'm NOT impressed!" "Oh?" he answered back. "Only a coward would have his opponent's attack hurt his opponent!" Omega didn't look amused. "I beg your pardon?" "What? Are you afraid to fight me yourself? Ya chicken? C'mon!" Omega suddenly drew out his twin curved swords. "As thy kind say back in thy kingdom…… 'Are you kiddin'?' Allow me to present for thy soon to be vast knowledge Chapter Two: My Special Attacks!" Omega crossed his swords like an 'X', as they began to glow in a crimson red light. "X-TERMINATOR!" An 'X' shaped beam of red energy was shot right toward Sonic! But Sonic gathered enough strength to leap upward toward the ceiling, and the blast shot right under him! He began to fall down toward his opponent below. "HA! I GOT YOU!" But just then, Omega pulled his left hand into his chest. "On the contrary!" Sonic felt something bad. He turned around, and saw the blast turn around! It headed straight to its target! "OH MAN!" 'BLAST!' "AAAGGHHH!"

Omega stood motionless. "Now then. Woudst thou yet consider my offer and try out my book? Last chance, spiny one." His words didn't phase Sonic at all. He stood up again, and looked more determined than ever! "Forget it, Lancelot! I don't need advice from a jerk!" Omega's hands rose to the ceiling, and a vortex suddenly opened above them. "Suit thyself! However I believe a change of scenery is in order. So allow myself to introduce to thee my Third Chapter: Dimensional Transportation, and it's Advantages!" A gust of wind surrounded the combatants, as they were pulled into the void above and vanished! When the void closed, six familiar warriors had just entered the icy chamber. "Guys! They just disappeared from here! If we hurry we can probably catch up!"

Sonic opened his weary eyes. "Whew! What the heck happened?" A glimmer of light shined at him. "Whoa it's bright! The sun must be shining off the ice…………Hey, where is the ice? Where's Omega-! WAITAMINUTE! WHERE AM I?" Sonic was shocked to find himself no longer in the Ice Cap Zone, but rather in the Quartz Quadrant Zone. Crystal shards and glittering gems were everywhere, shining with a bright aurora. But Omega was nowhere in sight! Sonic stood up. When he couldn't see Omega, he began to feel very annoyed. "Alright, that's it! I've had enough of you dragging me around like a rag doll, shady! And right now, I'm NOT in the mood for a disappearing act! So show yourself already!" Omega's voice suddenly echoed throughout the Zone. "HAHAHAHAHA…………But now dost thou now see the lesson I am attempting to teach thee? Thou may speak strongly. But I can hear the quiver in thy voice, the fear in thy speaking………YOU'RE AFRAID!"

Sonic's eyes widened. He was feeling shook up, but he would never admit that he was afraid! "No more mind games, freak! Come on out! Come out so I can show you just how wrong you are!" Sonic suddenly felt a presence. He turned around fast, and saw an image of Omega appear in a giant crystal shard! Sonic didn't wait for a second to react! "ORB-O-THUNDER!" The image vanished as Sonic's attack disappeared within the crystal. But then Sonic turned around. A few feet away, a different crystal began to glow, and Sonic's attack flew right out of it, and right toward him! "NO! NOT AGAIN!" 'BZZZZZT!' "AAAAGGGGHHH!" Suddenly, Omega appeared in another crystal, and held out his right hand. "REVERSAL!" Sonic suddenly flew into the air, turned upside down, and landed on the ground right on his head! 'KLANG!' Good thing he was wearing his helmet.

"Oooooooohhh……That wasn't fun…" Sonic said hazily. "Hmhmhm……Twas for myself!" Omega said as he slowly walked out of the giant crystal. "Yet another lesson thou missed by failing to observe my famous Chapter Four: Mirrors are a Warrior's Best Friend!" Sonic stood up from the ground. "Look here, pal! I'm sick of all this schooling you're trying to put on me! I've heard of schools of hard knocks, but THIS is ridiculous! Haven't you, being the 'great warrior' you say you are, ever considered maybe fighting FAIR?" The red eyes within Omega's helmet just stared at him, until he finally spoke. "………Fair? FAIR? HAHAHAHAHA! What nonsense! When wilt thou learn for thyself that alas, life is NEVER fair? Fairness……tis for the weak and pitiful! And thou make a prime sample!" Sonic's eyes suddenly turned fierce. "Don't……EVER call me WEAK!" he said in what sounded like a very ticked off voice. "I've faced creeps and wierdos a whole lot tougher than YOU! And I promise to beat you just like all the rest!" Omega snapped his fingers, and a blinding light began to grow brighter and brighter! "HA HA HA! Yay verily! I believe tis time for me to cease my amusement, and get on to the main event! HAHAHAHAHA!" When the light cleared, the two had once again vanished. (Quite a strange trip, eh?)

The Hang Castle Zone: an eerie, dark and mysterious stronghold that's actually a nice place to live (if you've got a bolt through your neck, or canine teeth the size of daggers)! Just arriving at the castle's front gate, six familiar faces stared at the bleak structure before them. It was Sonic's allies, still searching for their leader. "I really didn't feel like coming back HERE so soon…" Tails said, a little freaked out. "I'm with you!" agreed Vector. "This is by far one of the creepiest Zones to have ever existed!" Knuckles turned toward his friends. "If you ask me, it's a good place as any to find Sonic and the last Catalyst spirit!" Amy didn't look convinced. "Don't you think that would be rather cliché? Finding a creepy villain in a creepy castle?" But that's exactly what was to happen, for suddenly…… "HEY GUYS! Look up there!" Rouge shouted. Everyone did, but they were just staring at a large stain glass window a few stories up above the front entrance. "What is it, Rouge?" asked Espio. "I think, I just saw a big flash coming from that window!" "A flash?" "Yeah, like it came from inside!"

Inside the castle, behind the same stain glass window, Sonic laid on the floor. He awoke, hearing a hypnotic sound. It sounded like……an organ. His eyes focused, and Sonic found himself in a large room, that resembled a church! Rows of pews laid between him. And sitting in the front, just before a large organ (hence the music), was Omega himself! "YOU!" Sonic shouted. "Stop the warping stuff, already!" But just then, Sonic looked up, for he saw something coming toward him from above. A strange object slowly descended to the floor. When it stopped, sonic could see it clearly. It was……a giant cross! Omega turned around. "Chapter Five: Revelation!" He slowly approached the cross from behind. "I'm aware that thou art not the original Tritaneon, young warrior. But tis also true, that I comprehend how thou has been given such power!" "What are you getting at, spike-top?" Sonic wondered. Omega raised his metal glove, and pointed to the cross before him. "BEHOLD! The secret to your resurrected powers!" Suddenly, a shadow of a familiar figure began to form on the cross. First it was a silhouette, then color formed. And in a few seconds, a cloaked figure was hanging on the cross! Sonic stared in fear. "It……it can't be!" He recognized the person. "It's……NECRONOS!" Yes. Necronos was hanging lifelessly on the cross. "What have you done to him? ANSWER ME!" Sonic demanded. Omega did, without hesitation. "Simple, young warrior. My special dimensional transportation ability hast provided myself, the chance to teleport to thy mud ball of a planet this coward hast been hiding! As thou can see, capturing this pathetic knave was no challenge at all! HAHAHAHAHA!" Sonic looked furious! "Let him go! LET HIM GO NOW!" Omega got out his twin swords. "Oh, but I have a superior idea! Allow me, TO ENLIGHTEN THEE!" Sonic gasped as Omegas twin swords were jabbed through the back of the cross, and straight through Necronos! "AAAAAAAAAAAAAGGGGGGHHHHH!" Necronos' blue eyes suddenly opened wide, as he was penetrated by the cold steel. Sonic couldn't believe it. "NOOOOOOOO!" Then, suddenly Necronos' body was deteriorating! His form slowly changed into what appeared to be a spiritual apparition. Omega stretched his hands out. "Yes……YES! Now my amorphous friend, relinquish thy strength, TO ME!" Sonic could only stare in shock as the apparition was pulled toward Omega's armored body, and vanished within him! Then Omega's armor released a blinding flash!

Outside the castle, Sonic's friends remained staring at the glass window above them. Rouge pointed toward it. "LOOK! There's another flash!" "I saw it this time!" Espio stated. "Me too!" said Amy. "Does that mean Sonic's in there somewhere?" Tails wondered. Knuckles looked very worried. "I don't know, but either way, I have a very bad feeling about this……"

When the light faded, Sonic could hear Omega, laughing. "HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!" "WHERE ARE YOU?" Sonic demanded. "WHAT HAVE YOU DONE?" Omega then reappeared. But he looked different. His armor looked much bigger, and was now a dark onyx, with indigo highlights. He now wore a large, crimson red and black cape. And his eyes changed from red, to a dark violet. "HAHAHAHA! Much better!" Sonic was now beyond angry. "WHERE IS HE? WHAT HAVE YOU DONE TO NECRONOS?" Omega just cackled some more. "HAHAHAHAHA! Dost thou not see for thyself? Thanks to my blades unique powers and entities, I have just performed the great fusion ritual! Your once powerful purity magician friend, now resides within ME! Thus, I am now NECRONOS CATALYST!"

Now sonic felt more afraid than angry. "No, this can't be happening……" "Alas, tis true, knave! And with thy companion's energies flowing within me, I AM NOW INVINCIBLE! NOT EVEN YOU OR YOUR OTHER PATHETIC WARRIORS CAN MATCH WITH ME! SO NOW, METHINKS TIS TIME TO FINISH THY REBELIOUS ACT, ONCE AND FOR ALL! HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA………………"

Sonic stood stiff as a board, staring anxiously at the maniacal villain before him. He was feeling very convinced that the outcome of this battle, would not be a very pleasant one! "…………Arrgh! I just HAVE to do something! I CAN'T LET HIM WIN!..."

* * *

Looks bad, doesn't it? What do YOU think the outcome will be? Find out in the final chapter of this great battle, NEXT TIME! R&R! 

(A/N: "It Doesn't Matter" from the SA2 soundtrack)


	14. Call For Restoration

I only own Necronos, the spirits and warriors. But I'm sure you all remember that by now! Note: I'll be starting full time college soon, so delays a long as this might be possible in the future. So bear with me, please. Anyway, let's get Chapter 14 started!

* * *

Last time you may remember, Sonic aka Tritaneon the five start centurion, encountered the final rogue spirit, Omega Catalyst, a dark hearted villain in the form of a powerful knight. Although Sonic tried his best to finish the battle quickly, Omega's strength and abilities proved to be far superior compared to his six brethren before him. For example, his armor acted like a mirror and reflected any attack that Sonic threw at him, and his ability to teleport through the different Zones took Sonic on one wild ride. And to make things worse, Omega brought Sonic into a secret, church-like chamber within the Hang Castle Zone and demonstrated his power to absorb whole people! Unfortunately, Sonic's friend Necronos, who made Sonic and his friends the warriors they are now, was absorbed by the ruthless warrior. When the smoke cleared, Omega's energies had increased a thousand fold, and changed him into Necronos Catalyst! With Sonic all alone to face the maniacal madman, his companions outside struggle to find a way into the chamber to help their leader in trouble. 

Now on with our…laugh packed adventure? (Sonic: "You must laugh pretty easily"). Ok, so there's nothing to laugh about at this point… Anyway, Sonic stood motionless as Omega (I'm still going to call him that) stood tall and quite proud of his newfound strength and powers. "HAHAHAHAHA! Pathetic blue warrior! Methinks it be foolish for thou to continue this one-sided combat! Why doth now not just give up and spare ye a grim fate?" Sonic stood up strongly, and pointed his triton staff at his opponent. "There's NO WAY that I'm ever gonna give in to a freaky, insane, nasty knight like you! Like I said before, I've faced foes and villains far worst than you, and I'll beat you just like I did them!" But Sonic just watched as Omega's dark violet eyes began to glow within his dark helmet as he continued to laugh evilly. "Hahahahaha……Tis precisely what I expected thou to say! And yet I cannot believe it myself! Thou hast seen my strength, my power, and watched as I absorbed thy unfortunate companion! But ye STILL wish to defy me? As thou might say: That's rich, bub! HAHAHA!" Sonic's eyes widened. 'Oh, boy. That power has driven him MAD!' he thought to himself. Omega began to glow brightly again. "Ye be too much! If thou truly are foolish enough to perish while fighting……MY PLEASURE! HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA! Sonic stood ready. 'Well, it's now or never. On three…' "THREE! YAAAAAAAAAHHHHH!"

A little battle music please:

_This bloody road remains a mystery…_

_This sudden darkness fills the air…_

_What are we waiting for? Won't anybody help us?_

_What are we waiting for?_

"FLAME SPEAR ASSAULT!" Sonic fires a large round of blasts from his staff to Omega. He deflects them all, and fires back. "SATIN'S STARBURST!" 'BLAST!'

_We can't afford to be innocent!_

_Stand up and face the enemy!_

_It's a do or die situation!_

_We will be invincible!_

"THOUSAND SPIKES!" Glowing needles shot from the pointed edges of Sonic's armor. They all made contact, but Omega quickly shook them off. "DIAMOND SWORDS!" With a slash of omega's twin blades, a shock wave struck Sonic head on! 'BOOOOOM!' "AAAAAGGGHHHHH!"

_This shattered dream you cannot justify._

_We're gonna scream until we're satisfied._

_What are we running for? We've got the right to be angry._

_What are we running for, when there's nowhere we can run to anymore?_

"Give up, knave! Thou hast shown great bravery, however stupid! But ye cannot even scratch my armor! Just cease thy pointless rebelling and DIE!"

"Forget it, big mouth! I'll never give in no matter what happens! I'm just gonna keep trying! So take this! YAAAAH!"

_We can't afford to be innocent!_

_Stand up and face the enemy!_

_It's a do or die situation!_

_We will be invincible!_

_And with the power of conviction,_

_There is no sacrifice!_

_It's a do or die situation!_

_We will be invincible!_

Outside the chamber. The rest of the gang watched as Rouge closed her eyes and concentrated, attempting to sense what the heck was going on in there! "Well Rouge? What's up?" Knuckles wondered. Rouge spoke up. "It's…it's really hard to tell. All I can see is blast after blast after blast!" Amy then got an idea. She got out a small card with the picture of a large colorful eye. "Rouge. Hold this card and think about what you just saw. We might be able to see it if it works!" Rouge did as she was told. The card began to glow bright blue. "EYE OF REVEALATION!" Just then, a large flash of light emerged from the card, and showed everyone what was happing inside, like a projection! "WHOA! Who's that freaky dude takin' on big blue?" Vector said in surprise. "It's gotta be the last spirit!" Espio realized! "It looks like he's in trouble!" Tails said worriedly. But as for Amy… "Come on, Sonic! Show 'em what you've got! You can do it! Take out that creep! Tear him apart! Blast him to oblivion! COME ON, BOY!" Everyone just stared wide eyed…

_Won't anybody help us?_

_What are we running for, when there's nowhere, nowhere we can run to anymore?_

_We can't afford to be innocent!_

_Stand up and face the enemy!_

_It's a do or die situation!_

_We will be invincible!_

_And with the power of conviction,_

_There is no sacrifice!_

_It's a do or die situation!_

_We will be invincible!_

"Mark my words, blackie! You're goin' DOWN!"

"NEVER!"

_We can't afford to be innocent…_

_Stand up and face the enemy…_

_It's a do or die situation…_

_We will be invincible!_

_We can't afford to be innocent…_

_Stand up and face the enemy…_

_It's a do or die situation…_

_We will be invincible!_

The two combatants suddenly stopped. Sonic stood weakly panting wearily, while Omega remained standing tall taking in a short breath. "He, he, he… Thou truly hast proven thy courage and persistence, young warrior. Alas, tis quite a shame that ye shall have done so for nothing! Prepare to perish before my power!" Sonic's head hung low for a moment. But to Omega's surprise, he appeared to be laughing! "Hmhmhmhm…Ha ha ha ha ha!" "Hmm… Wouldst thou mind elaborating as to what is so humorous?" Sonic raised his head smiling. "Well, if you really want to know, it's you!" "WHAT?" "You just seem to be so full of yourself……it's the one villain cliché I can't help but laugh at! HAHAHAHAHA! You're kind always talk about how big you are, how strong you are, how tough you are! Don't you ever get tired of boasting?" That seemed to hit a tender area in Omega's pride. "Grrrrrrr… HOW DARE YOU! I'LL TEACH YOU KNAVE, WHY TIS NEVER WISE TO RIDICULE YOUR SOON TO BE EXECUTIONER!"

Sonic's smile suddenly faded away. 'Uh-oh… Maybe that wasn't such a good idea. I can feel his energy rising fast!' Just then Omega began to chant an incantation Sonic heard before, and pose his hands into very familiar looking patters! "RYN-SU-KAI-CHEN-NI-YO-HAAAAAAAA!" With that, a large, bright energy wave formed in between the two warriors. Sonic just stared in amazement. "I know that spell! Necronos used it to…" "To send thyself and thy companions to this world! Yet ye had no knowledge as to how much power this energy contains within." Omega's hands began to turn darker. "So allow myself to demonstrate how great an energy it doth contain, with a little something I agree thou hast become so accustomed to!" Sonic then realized, "Oh crud! He's gonna reflect it!" "DARK MANEFESTAION!" The energy wave suddenly turned into a deep dark black, and fired straight at Sonic! "NOOOOO!" Too late. 'ZZZAAAAAAPP!' 'BLAAAAAST!' "AAAAAAAAAAGGGGGGGHHHHH!" The force of the blow was indescribable! Sonic's armor cracked fiercely! As he fell to the floor, his helmet fell off and shattered to pieces! And Sonic, was no longer moving…

Outside, the gang watched in horror as their leader fell after the blast. "OH NOOOOOOOOO!" Amy and Tails cried out in unison. "NO WAY!" Knuckles shouted. "OW! THAT'S NOT RIGHT!" Vector snapped. Rouge and Espio were just plain stunned, standing wide-eyed and their mouths hanging open. They all continued to stare at the projected scene. Many seconds later, Sonic still hadn't moved an inch! Small tears began to form under Amy's eyes. "No….. Come on, Sonic….. Get up…..Get up!...Don't do this to me….." she silently whispered. Omega began to slowly approach his fallen opponent. "Sonic, look out! He's coming! Wake Up!" Tails shouted to him, tears in his eyes as well. "Come on, Sonic! We need you! Stand up!" Espio yelled. Omega crept closer and closer. "You can't be finished after that one shot! You're better than that! I know it!" Rouge cried. He continued to lay still. "COME ON! GET UP ALREADY, YOU!" Knuckles suddenly shouted. "WE ALL BEAT OUR OPPONENTS! SO WHY THE HECK CAN'T YOU STOP YOURS? GET MOVIN'!" But it appeared everyone's cries and shouts were meaningless. Omega finally stopped in front of Sonic's lifeless body, and drew one of his swords. "Well, warrior. Tis been quite an amusing duel. But alas, it all ends now!" He raised his sword above his head, and prepared for the final blow! "NOOOOOOOOOO!" everyone shouted one last time. Amy's tear soaked eyes grew increasingly wide in fear! "SAY GOODBYE, REBEL!" 'SLASH!'

……………………………………… "SOOOOOOOOONNNNNIIIIIIIIIIIIIIICCC!"

……………………………………… 'FLAAAAAAAAAASSSSSSSSHHHHH!'

"WHAT!"

Suddenly, Sonic's eyes shot open! "YAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHH!"

"OMMEEEGAAAAAAAA!"

'BOOOOM!' A large, explosive red flash burst from Sonic's body! Omega covered his eyes! "WHAT! THIS IS IMPOSSIBLE!"

Back outside, the gang couldn't believe what they were seeing! "What happened! What happened!" Tails shouted frantically. But before anyone could answer, Tails looked to see his body glowing in an orange aura once again! "Whoa! What the-?" And the same began to happen to everyone else. Knuckles glowed in a golden yellow. Amy glowed in a shining green. Vector was illuminated in blue. Rouge was a sparkling indigo. And Espio was a flashing violet. And before everyone's startled eyes, their colored energies shot from their bodies, and straight into the chamber! "Everyone! LOOK!"

Inside, the lights began to swirl around Sonic's body. He slowly began to rise from the ground. "WHAT? WHAT IS HAPPENING? THIS CANNOT BE!" Omega suddenly raised his hands. "DIE!" He fired multiple blasts from his arms, but the lights surrounding Sonic weren't even phased! Just then the energies began to make contact on Sonic's shattered armor. His shoes were now shining like amethysts. His metal gloves were now like sapphires. His chest plate and back steel spikes gleamed like an emerald. His triton lance came to his right hand shining like gold. And finally, his shattered helmet was restored, and sparkled like a fiery ruby. Sonic's eyes flew open, and he gave a cold, threatening glare to Omega, who still couldn't believe all that had happened just now!

Sonic finally began to speak. "Omega! You and your brethren have plagued both Mobius and Mobius Z with your darkness and malevolence long enough! It's time I finished your evil ways once and for all!" "BUT HOW! HOW CAN THIS BE?" Omega pleaded. "I AM INVINCIBLE! AND YOU SHOULD BE DEAD! I WON'T ALLOW THIS!" Sonic prepared himself. "You saw it yourself, shady! My friends never stopped believing in me! And thanks to them, I have been saved from a horrible fate by you!" He pointed his lance straight at Omega. "But however, nothing will save you from………OBLIVION!" The lance began to glow brightly, in an aurora of seven colors. "NO! NO! STAY BACK!" Sonic slowly grinned. "……Hasta la vista, mistah!"……………… "SHINING AURORA STRIKE!" Upon command, a humongous beam of multi-colored energy fired from Sonic's lance and, …… 'BAAAMM!', pierced right through Omega's armored body! "AAAAAAAAGGGGGGHHHHH! MY ARMOR! MY PRECIOUS ARMOR!" Suddenly, a blue light emerged from inside Omega, and shot outside of the chamber, right into the middle of the gang! "WHOA! What's that?" Tails wondered. The light soon became a physical form. "It's…it's Necronos!" "YAAAAYY! He's free! He's OK!" Amy screamed with delight. Sonic took one last look at Omega, as his armor slowly cracked to pieces. "This is it! The final chapter to a long, and waaaaaaay over-written book! HIYAAAAAAAAHHHH!" 'SLASH!' 'CRAAACCCCKKKK!' "NO! NO! NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!" 'BOOOOOOOMMM!'

With the strong force of the explosion, Sonic was sent flying right out the stain glass window behind him! 'KSSSSSHHHH!' "WHOOOAAAAA…" And with a sudden 'THUD!', he landed right in the middle of his surrounding friends! "Whoa! What a trip." He then looked up to see all his friends smiling down on him. "Hi guys! Miss me?" Amy then gave him a BIG hug from behind. "Only a whole lot!" "That was AWESOME, Sonic!" Tails said happily. "It was way beyond that!" Vector said. "It was SUPER TIGHT!" "I couldn't agree with you more, Vec!" Rouge said back. Espio patted Sonic's back. "Way to go, champion." Knuckles held out his hand. "Need a lift up, buddy?" Sonic grabbed his hand, and was lifted up off the ground. "Thanks pal! I needed that. I must admit, that last finishing attack took a lot out of me!" Just then there was a silence. And a realization came before everyone. "That's right, my friends…" Everyone turned around, and saw…… Necronos! He was standing up, fully recovered! He turned around, his bright blue eyes shining within his hood, and held something Sonic had overlooked. A red jewel shard! "You have all just defeated the seven Catalyst spirits!" "YEEEEEAAAAAHHHH!" Necronos walked forward to Sonic, then gave him the red shard. "You have saved my life, Tritaneon. I knew you had it in ya!" "Thanks, Necro! I'm glad you're ok!" Everyone then held high their seven Cataclysmic Emerald shards. Sonic shouted, "Let's hear it one last time guys! WE HAVE WON!" "YEEEEEEAAAAAAAHHHHHHH!"

_It doesn't matter now what happens,_

_I will never give up the fight!_

_There is no way I will run away from,_

_All of my frights!_

_Long as the voice inside me says go,_

_I will always keep on running!_

_There is no way to stop me from going,_

_To the very top!_

_It doesn't matter, who is wrong or who is right!_

_Yeah……_

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Well, THEY DID IT! At last all the pieces of the Cataclysmic Emerald have been collected, and the spirits have been vanquished. Be with me next time for the final chapter, folks! VICTORY AT LAST! R&R! 

(A/N: "Invincible" sung by Pat Benatar, and "It Doesn't Matter" from SA soundtrack)


	15. Victory

Hello, readers everywhere! For the last and final time (thank goodness), I own only Necronos, the warriors, and the spirits. The rest belong to Sega and/or Archie. Finally, the time has come. The conclusion you've all been waiting for! I'll keep you waiting no longer. So get ready for the final chapter of, The Cataclysmic Emerald! Chapter 15:

* * *

Well, they did it! Sonic and his team have finally defeated all seven of the Catalyst spirits, and all the colored shards of the Cataclysmic Emerald have been retrieved!

Now, back where our heroes first arrived on Mobius Z, The Green Hill Zone, Necronos stands surrounded by Sonic and the gang, still wearing their ancient warrior outfits, and standing in a small circle. Necronos held out his hands. "Alright, everyone. Now hold out your shard pieces in front of you." Everyone smiled, and did as they were told. "Now close your eyes, and focus your thoughts to each other. We will now restore the emerald back to normal." Everyone closed their eyes, and focused. Necronos' hands began to faintly glow, and so did everyone's shard pieces. "Shou…Casskes…Ehgomas…Casskes…Turingru…" Necronos began to chant. Everyone opened their eyes, and watched as their shards began to levitate above them! They floated high into the air and slowly spun in a circle coming closer together. And just before they touched……

"FLAAAAAAAAASSSSSHHHHH!"

Everyone continued to look up. They saw something coming down toward them. Necronos finally opened his glowing blue eyes, and looked up to see the emerald floating right toward him! Everyone's smiles and grins suddenly grew bigger. And a few seconds later, the restored Cataclysmic Emerald landed right in Necronos' hands. "YEEESSS!" he shouted as he held it up high! "YEEEAAHHH!" everyone shouted in agreement! The gem shined in its bright aurora of seven colors. "It's so beautiful…" Rouge couldn't help but stare at it. "Yes." Agreed Espio. "Who would've thought that such a gleaming treasure was really a prison for an ancient evil?" "Not me, at first glance!" Amy admitted. Everyone laughed. And why not? After all, now they could laugh again after such an awesome victory!

"Well! I'm sure glad it's all over!" Espio admitted. "Yep. Now we can head back home and face a bigger problem: THE BILLS!" Vector said to him. "I should ask the president for a special bonus after what I went through…" Rouge said (you know what she means…). "And I've gotta find a way to explain all this to Julie-Su!" Knuckles said. "Y'know she doesn't handle me disappearing out of the blue very well." "When we get back, I'm taking you all out for a special night on the town to celebrate!" Amy suggested. Tails looked excited. "Cool! I can't wait for that!" Sonic then turned his attention back to Necronos. "So Necro, whatcha gonna do with that 'pain in the neck' gem now?" "Hide it again!" he answered proudly. "We wouldn't want to face the dark fury inside of it again, now would we?"

But before anyone could answer…… "Huh?" Knuckles turned around. "What is it, Necro?" Suddenly, everyone looked at the emerald, and stared in shock! The glowing seven colors suddenly faded away and were replaced by a black, sinister shadow! "What the! What's happening?" Just then, the sky spontaneously turned into a dark shade of gray! And a high gust of wind began to blow! Then, everyone watched as the emerald flashed a gigantic burst of dark energy! 'BLAAAAAAASSSSTTTT!' "OW!" "OOF!" "OUCH!" "WHOA!" The gang was blown back by the blast!

When everyone opened their eyes…… "Man! What just happened?" Vector asked feeling dazed. "Something big, I think…" Rouge answered. Tails looked around. "Hey Necro. Necro! You alright?" Everyone looked at Necronos. He was just staring wide-eyed up in the air. Amy looked really worried. "Necro! What's wrong? You look like you've seen a……" "GHOST!" Everyone turned to face Knuckles. "What?" Sonic looked at where he was staring. "WHOA! WHAT THE HECK!" Everyone suddenly looked behind them. Amy's eyes suddenly show wide open! "OH MY LORD!" Stand just a few yards away from everyone, was a humongous (I repeat, HUMONGOUS) dark colored menacing figure! It was over a 100ft. high! It was pitch black, with a few violet highlights on his muscular looking physique! Its face was nothing but two glowing red, evil eyes, and a large red toothy grinned mouth! Its hands were clawed, and its elbows had huge spike-like blades sticking out! In fact, it had spiked highlights throughout its whole body! And the top of its head contained a pair of large horns that curved downward! _"HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA……………FREE AT LAST!"_

Everyone just stared in shock. They were completely stunned! "WHO THE HECK IS THAT!" Amy shouted. No one spoke for a few seconds. Then Necronos finally did. "It can't be……This…this wasn't supposed to happen!" "WHAT?" Sonic shouted. Necronos shuddered in fear. "…………………………IT'S CATALYST!" ……………………………………………………………………………………………… "WHAT! What did you say!" "IT'S HIM! The great evil of the 6000 year old legend! CATALYST!" Everyone was now wide-eyed in shock! They couldn't believe what they were just told! Then they turned to face the demon before them! _"HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA……………"_ his deep voice boomed loudly. _"FINALLY! AFTER 6000 YEARS OF INPRISONMENT, I AM RELEASED UPON THE WORLD ONCE MORE!"_ Sonic and his friends continued to stand and stare in shock. Until he finally spoke up. "No way! You're the real Catalyst? The big bad demon dude who Necro told us about, Catalyst?" _"THAT'S CORRECT, MORTAL! I AM THE SAME OMNIPOTENT DEMON CREATED SO LONG AGO BY THOSE FOOLISH WARLOCKS, WHO WERE CRAZY ENOUGH TO ACTUALLY BELIEVE THEY COULD CONTROL ME! WHAT FOOLS!"_ The enormous demon turned his creepy gaze down to the seven warriors before him. _"AND YOU! DON'T THINK I'VE FORGOTTEN ANY OF YOU! THE APPRENTINCES OF THAT ACURSED WHITE WIZARD WHO SPLIT ME APART EONS AGO! YOU ALL ARE RESPONSIBLE FOR SEALING ME IN THAT DEPRAVED EMERLAD! YOU REALIZED HOW CRAMPED IT WAS IN THERE?"_

No once could answer him. Amy and Tails were too frightened, and the others remained stunned. The demon began to grin sinisterly. _"BUT HOWEVER, I SUPPOSE I SHOULDN'T BE THAT IRATE WITH YOU. AFTER ALL, THANKS TO YOU ALL, I AM FREE TO SMITE THIS WORLD WITH DARKNESS ONCE AGAIN!"_ Sonic suddenly snapped out of his shock. "WHAT? Hey now, wait-a-minute! What do you mean by that!" Knuckles looked angry now, too. "Yeah! We defeated all of your spiritual selves! How can you still be alive after that!" The demon just laughed. _"HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA! YOU DON'T SEE, DO YOU? IF I HAD REMAINED IN MY SPIRITUAL FORMS FOR ETERNITY LIKE THAT VILE WIZARD HOPED I WOULD, IT WOULD'VE TAKEN SO LONG TO CONQUER YOUR MUD-BALL OF A PLANET IF I WAS EVER FREED! AND EVEN THOUGH MY SPIRITS WERE QUITE POWERFUL, SEE HOW EASILY YOU'VE DEFEATED ALL OF THEM?"_ "You think that was EASY!" Vector shouted at him. "We all almost died trying to stop all of you!" Rouge shrieked. _"YES…I NOTICED. BUT NOW THAT YOU'VE ALL DEFEATED MY SPIRITS, AND RETURNED THE CATACLYSMIC EMERALD PIECES BACK AS ONE, YOU'VE FINALLY ACCOMPLISHED WHAT I'VE BEEN WAITING FOR SO LONG! THE CHANCE TO FUSE MY SPIRITS BACK INTO WHAT THEY WERE SO LONG AGO……MYSELF! SO THANKS! I COULDN'T HAVE DONE IT WITHOUT YA!"_ The gang all gasped at that last sentence. They couldn't believe it. They actually HELPED him recreate himself!

Lightning began to strike, thunder boomed from the sky, and the waves in the Zone's lake began to crash violently! Sonic thought about what Catalyst just said, and turned to see Necronos on his knees shuddering in fear. "Necro? Is what he said really true?" he asked worriedly. Necronos looked scared beyond belief! "I had no idea………none of this was supposed to happen……" Tears began to form under his eyes. "What have I done?...I've failed……Forgive me, Sonic……Please forgive me……" he suddenly collapsed from shock! 'THUD!' "NECRO!" Sonic shouted. But when he looked up at the sky, his question was answered before him. The darkness that had been surrounding Mobius since the Cataclysmic Emerald first shattered hadn't faded away! The negative energy was still there! "No……I don't believe it……he's right…" Sonic's shocked expression suddenly faded, and a stern look of pure anger replaced it! He turned and pointed his staff at the gargantuan villain towering before him. "I don't know how you did all this, but I say you've done enough!" Everyone's focus turned to their leader. "You're darkness and maniacal ways has plagued both our words quite enough for one millennium! And you may think you can scare me with your big size, and obviously super powered strength, but I'll have you know I've seen crackpots like you do the same time and time again. And as usual, as long as I'm still standing, you haven't won yet! Now just try and take our worlds!" The gang was quite enlightened by Sonic's speech (I was!), and they all stood by their leader in agreement. "That's right, gruesome! This is our world! And we never surrender without a fight!" Knuckles shouted. "That goes double for us!" Amy and Tails said in unison. "So come on, tough guy! Bring it on!" Rouge snapped back. "The broad's right!" Vector said. "We'll never let you win!" said Espio.

Catalyst continued to grin menacingly, and he faced his right palm toward our heroes. _"HAHAHA! VERY INTERESTING! I WAS HOPING YOU'D ALLOW ME THE PLEASURE OF FINISHING YOU OFF! SO, HOW ABOUT WE GET THIS FINAL PARTY STARTED!…………………………………………PYRO TORRENT!"_ Vector looked up, and saw a vision of a dragon on Catalyst's palm, as a rampaging blast of fire shot from it! 'FWA-VOOOOOOSSSSSHHHHH!' "Everyone! GET DOOOWWWWNNN!" Everybody ducked as the flames shot right over their heads! Vector looked up! "That attack……that was Delta's!" _"YES………QUITE A HOT ONE, ISN'T IT?"_ Catalyst said back. Rouge watched as Catalyst opened his right hand, and the vision of a familiar female face was seen for a split second! _"NOW LET'S GIVE A HAND FOR BETA'S #1 HIT!…………………DARKNESS WAVE!"_ A large blast of negative energy fired right for her. "Aaagghh!" She was too slow to react! 'BOOOOM!' But Espio wasn't. "Hang on, babe! I got ya!" He moved her out of the way just in time! Now Tails began to hover above the ground, and stopped when he saw a jester-like grimace form around Catalyst's head! _"HEY TWO-TAIL! REMEMBER THIS?……………NEGA-FORCE!"_ With that, a black orb of darkness fired from his eyes, and struck Tails head on! 'BAAAMMM!' "AAAAGGHH!" He fell to ground, and struggled to get back up. "What's going on?" Amy said while feeling quite frightened. "How can he do the same attacks as all the spirits?" Knuckles answered quickly. "Amy……I say it's because, all those spirits were a part of him! He probably knows how to do every single one of their attacks!" _"HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA! MY, YOU ARE VERY OBSERVANT! YOU DESRERVE A HAND FOR THAT. OR INSTEAD, HOW ABOUT A CHAIN!"_ A vision of a cloaked figure that looked like Knuckles began to appear on Catalyst's chest. 'Oh no!' Knuckles thought. 'Epsilon!' _"NIGHTMARE CHAINS!"_ Whip-like chains shot from his body, and wrapped all around Knuckles! "AAAAGGH! HEY LET GO!" Catalyst seemed quite amused. _"HAHAHAHAHAHA! NOW THIS IS WHAT I CALL FUN!"_

With a swing of the chains, Knuckles was thrown right to the ground! 'WHAM!' "OOOOFF!" But soon, he and the others began to slowly recover. _"NOW, WHOM SHALL I AMAZE NEXT?"_ Catalyst asked cockily. But before he could see it… "RADIANCE ENERGY!" Amy fired a large beam of light from her wand right into his face! 'BLAST!' "AAAAGGGHH!" And right after that… "THREE STAR STRIKE!" Espio threw three of his shurikens at the side of his head, and exploded on contact! 'BOOOOM!' _"AAARRRRGGHH! HEY! NO CHEAP SHOTS!"_ Vector suddenly stepped up. "Like you're one to talk, boogey man!" He then drew out his sword and prepared to strike. "Comin' at ya!" But Catalyst just smirked. _"HEH, HEH, HEH……I THINK NOT………GET A LOAD OF THIS! YOUR GONNA LOVE IT!"_ Catalyst raised two of his left fingers into the air, and they began to glow. Then suddenly……………… _"ELECTRON JOUST!"_ "WHAT!" Before Vector could react, a large bolt of lightning fired from his Catalyst's fingers, and struck him dead on! 'ZZZAAAAAAAAAPPPPP!' "AAAAAAAAHHHHH!" The shock sent Vector flying six yards backward! Tails looked up in complete surprise. "WHAT THE-! But that's Vector's attack! How the heck did he do THAT?" The demon then turned toward Amy and Rouge. _"AND NOW, ONE FOR THE LADIES!………………………EMERALD BLAZE!"_ Amy suddenly watched as a burst of green fire blazed from his right hand toward the two of them! 'BAAAAMMMM!' "WHOOOOAAAAA!" The two dove to the side just before impact. "OK! This is starting to freak me out!" Rouge shouted out. Sonic was way too shocked about what he was seeing to move from his spot. But Catalyst spotted him! _"NOW DON'T THINK I'D FORGET YOU, TRITANEON!………………………THOUSAND SPIKES!"_ A sudden bombardment of spiked spears shot from the demon's chest, right at Sonic! "Oh no you don't!" Luckily he snapped out of it, and ran aside to safety.

"Alright! How the heck does this freak know how to use OUR ATTACKS!" Vector shouted angrily. Knuckles seemed to understand again. "It's probably the same way he knows the attacks of his spirits!" "But-but that's just not fair!" Amy complained. _"CORRECT, PATHETIC WORMS! YOU ALL USED VERY POWERFUL ATTACKS TO DEFEAT MY ASTRAL SELVES. BUT LUCKILY FOR ME, A LITTLE BIT OF EACH ASSAULT WAS SAVED IN THEIR MEMORY WHILE I WAS SLOWLY REGENERATING MYSELF! THUS LEAVING BEHIND FOR ME THE MOST POWERFUL ARSENAL OF MAGICAL ENERGIES IN THE UNIVERSE! AAAAAAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!"_ Everyone now was utterly shocked beyond all belief. (I bet some of you are too!) However, Sonic remained standing proud! "Ok! I admit it. I am pretty much freaked out by you as of now, tall dark and gruesome! But you still don't scare me enough to surrender!" Vector couldn't believe his ears. "Are you NUTS, man?" Rouge slightly agreed. "Look at him, Sonic! It's like we're all just fighting the spirits all over again. And ourselves with it! We can't beat that!" "I can't believe after all went through, all we did was make him super-super powerful!" Tails admitted. Espio, Amy, and Knuckles all nodded in agreement. "Well, that's just another reason as to why we all need to take him down!" Sonic said vigorously. Everyone once again faced their leader. "Listen up, guys! We didn't go through all that we went through just to make the world's biggest blowhard over there his own titan! We went through all that so we can do what we all do best: SAVE OUR WORLDS FROM EVIL!" It was pretty hard for everyone to try to argue with him after giving so many speeches today! And so without hesitation, the gang began an all out bombardment of their own! "That's the spirit guys! Now let's go get 'em!" "YEEEAAHHH!" Tomias! "THREE STAR STRIKE!" Celestia! "DRAGON FIST!" Jurik! "STORM OF SHARDS!" Saiuka! "RADIANCE ENERGY!" Darconda! "LUNAR PLASMA!" Horu-San! "METAL ROCKETS!"…………Tritaneon! "FLAME SPEAR ASSAULT!" Everyone's attacks had all struck Catalyst on all different areas of his body! 'BOOOOM!' 'BAAAAMMM!' 'KAAA-BOOOOOOOOOOOMMMMM!"

Everyone stood tall, feeling quite confident that they had done it! "Alright! No way he could take all that at once!" Vector shouted, hold his sword up high. "I agree! I doubt anything could after that!" Knuckles replied. Amy looked slightly worried. "I just wish that smoke would clear so we can see it for ourselves!" It was true. A large cloud of smoke surrounded where Catalyst was standing. Ten seconds later, the gang watched as the smoke departed. But were stunned at the sight before them. "NO WAY! I……I don't believe it!" Espio slowly whispered. Catalyst still stood towering before them, completely harmless! _"HEH, HEH, HEH………YOU REALLY SHOULD STOP TRYING TO TICKLE ME…………IT'S QUITE AN EMBARASSING STRATAGY, YOU KNOW!"_ Tails' mouth hung open. "I can't believe it! There's not even a scratch on him!" "What do we do now!" Rouge asked hesitantly. "………………Pull back." Everyone turned toward Espio. "Guys, it's safe to say that now we are in no condition to fight against these odds! We've got to retreat for now until we've got a better plan!" Sonic didn't seem to like that suggestion. "We can't run away! We have to finish him here and now before he gets unstoppable!" "Hey! I don't want to leave as much as you, but look at him! He already looks pretty unstoppable to me!" Catalyst prepared himself again for another assault! _"I'D LIKE TO LISTEN TO YOU CHAT ALL DAY, BUT I DO HAVE A FEW WORLDS TO CONQUER! SO HOW ABOUT I FINISH YOU ALL OFF RIGHT NOW! SOUND GOOD? GOOD!"_

Soon, everybody began to panic! "Everyone! Scatter!" Sonic ordered. But as usual, it was too late. _"SPIRE BARRAGE!"_ Hundreds of spiked stone pillars rained down on Espio! "AAAAGGGHH!" _"THREE STAR STRIKE!"_ Then Espio was struck by his own attack! 'SLASH! CHING! SLASH!' "AAARRRRGGGH!" He fell to the ground. "Espio!" _"YOUR TURN, CELESTIA!"_ Rouge looked up. _"DARKNESS WAVE!…………CRIMSON WHIP!"_ Rouge was hit with both her and Beta's attacks! 'WHA-PSSSSSHHHH! BAAAAMM!' "AAAAAHHHH!" Vector put up his energy shield. 'Please hold, please hold, please hold!' he prayed. But no such luck. _"PYRO TORRENT!…………STORM OF SHARDS!"_ The shield was broken on contact! "AAAAAAAGGGGGHHH!" Amy tried to run for cover. Yep, it didn't work. _"BUSTER BEAM!…………EMERALD BLAZE!"_ 'BOOOOMM!" "YAAAAAAHHHH!" _"NOW FOR YOU TWO!"_ Catalyst turned toward Tails and Knuckles. But once he did, they were gone! _"WHAT? WHERE ARE YOU?"_ He suddenly looked above his head. "SPECTRE SWORD!" "BOOMERANG BLADE!" Unfortunately, their attacks had no effect. And they were soon blasted by their foes' familiar attacks._ "NICE TRY, FOOLS!…………………NIGHTMARE CHAINS!…………NEGA-FORCE!"_ The impacts knocked them both to the ground. "OOOOOFFF!" "YAAAARRRGGH!" Only Sonic remained standing. He stared in fear at his friends. They were lying on the field before him motionless. "No………this can't be………Guys! Guys, get up! Please! We can't lose to this guy! WE CAN'T!" Tears streamed down his face, then he looked up to face his opponent. _"WELL, IT APPEARS YOU'RE ABOUT TO, TRITANEON! NOW, ALLOW ME TO FINALLY SETTLE THIS 6000 YEAR OLD GRUDGE!…………………YOUR WORLDS ARE ALL MINE!"_ Catalyst brought his hands close together, and Sonic watched as a great energy was slowly forming. But what shocked him the most was the energy looked very familiar. It shined in an aurora of seven colors! "Oh crud! He knows the last attack I used on Omega! OH MAAAAAANN!"_ "WARRIORS…………………………SAY GOOD-BYYYYYYEEEEE!"_ Within seconds, Catalyst fired his final blow. _"SHINING AURORA STRIKE!"_ 'BLAAAAAAAAAAAAAAASSSSSSSSSTTTTTT!'

………………………………………………………………………………………………

'BOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOMMMMMMMMMMMMM!'

"YAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAARRRRRRRGGGGGGHHHH!"

Darkness………Sonic soon found himself lying in total darkness. His armor was gone, and he was normal again. He lay motionless. All he could hear were his own thoughts. 'It's no use……………I gave it all I had…………We all gave it all we had…………But none of it is enough…………He's just too darn powerful……………And ironically, it's because of us that he is………………I'm sorry, Necronos…………You didn't fail us…………I did………….I failed to accomplish what you hoped I would……………I failed to save all my friends…………And I failed both our worlds from being saved from darkness…………Espio, Rouge, Vector, Amy, Knuckles, Tails………………I'm so sorry guys………………It's all over………………………"

_"Sonic………Sonic………"_ "What?………Who's that?" _"Sonic………Can you hear me?"_ "Who………Who's calling me?" Sonic found himself standing up, still surrounded by darkness. But his eyes suddenly turned toward a beacon of light in front of him. He slowly walked toward it. When he reached it, he watched as seven beams of colored light began to encircle him. And as soon as he turned to his left, he saw………himself! He was looking at himself, wearing his ancient warrior armor. _"Sonic……You do have all the power you need………it's all within you…"_ he spoke. "Who are you?" _"I am you, Sonic………Who you used to be…"_ "What?" _"I am the greatest apprentice of the legendary White Wizard of 6000 years ago. I am the leader of the seven who followed in his footsteps to keep your world safe from evil………I am, Tritaneon."_ "…Tritaneon? It's really you?" _"I still live within you, Sonic. And so do my friends in your own…"_ Six familiar figures appeared behind him. Sonic saw them all. "Tomias, Celestia, Jurik, Saiuka, Darconda, Horu-San………You've been with me and my friends………all this time?" _"That's right"_ Tritaneon answered. _"We've always been with you. And we're proud of you all."_ "Please," Sonic began. "Tell me……Is it possible for Catalyst to be defeated? Can you grant us more magic powers?" After a pause, Tritaneon smiled, and answered. _"Listen, don't rely on the magic gifted to you alone…………Sonic, you have to trust in your own powers……" _…………………… "Trust in my own power? My power?" _"Correct…"_ Sonic paused, and felt a bright red aura form around his body. "It's there……I can feel it! I do have the strength to win. And so do my friends!" Tritaneon nodded. "Thank you, Tritaneon." _"Do us all proud, Sonic……"_ 'This is it! I can feel it! The power to save me, my friends, and everyone else!' "SPIRIT WARRIORS' POWERS!…………………COMBINE AS ONE!"

'FLAAAAAAAAASSSHHH!' After a blinding burst of light, Sonic found that he had awakened. His armor was restored to normal, and he felt great! He then turned his attention to Catalyst, and found him holding his hands above his head toward Mobius. The negative energy surrounding it was growing darker! "CATALYST!" he called out to his opponent. The demon dropped his hands, and faced Sonic. And for the first time since he appeared, he frowned!_ "YOU! HOW CAN YOU STILL BE ALIVE AFTER THAT?"_ Sonic grinned. "Let's just say, it's what I do!" He turned to his still lifeless companions, and held out his triton staff. "REVIVE AND RECOVER!" A beam of light blue energy waves spread across the field, and flowed around everyone's bodies. Suddenly, their eyes shot open! And they all leaped back on their feet! "WHOA! I'm feelin' great!" Vector said. "I feel empowered!" said Rouge. "I don't know what happened, but I like it!" shouted Knuckles. "Amy looked at her leader. "Sonic! Did you heal us?" "You got that right, girl! And just in time to take this creepapaloza down once and for all!" Catalyst cackled. _"HAHAHAHAHAHA……………JUST GIVE IT UP, WEAKLINGS! MY POWERS STILL OUTWEIGH YOURS BY A THOUSAND FOLD! AND NEED I REMIND YOU THAT I POSSESS ALL OF YOUR OWN ATTACKS?"_ Sonic continued smiling. "Not ALL of them, gruesome!" _"WHAT?"_ Catalyst actually looked surprised. "Tails! Throw your Boomerang Blade attack!" Sonic ordered. "What? But Sonic, he'll just deflect it like before!" "Not this time, bro! Trust me!" Tails found it hard to argue with his best friend. "Alright, I'm with ya! BOOMERANG BLADE!" As soon as Tails threw his spiked headband, Sonic sprang into action! "ORB-O-THUNDER!" He fired his attack at Tails'. And upon contact, they fused! They had created a spinning blade of electricity! And it hit Catalyst's chest right on target! 'SLASH!' 'BZZZZZZTTT!' _"AAAAAGGGGHHHH!"_ That did it! It actually hurt him! _"WHAT? WHAT IS THIS? I…………I DON'T HAVE THAT ATTACK!"_ Sonic laughed with amusement! "HA HA HA HA! That's because we just made it up! It's our THUNDER BLADE! You guys get my drift?" he said to his teammates. Everyone smiled with excitement. "Oh, yeah! Way ahead of ya, buddy!" Knuckles said enthusiastically. Amy stood ready! "Alright, guys! We finally know what to do! NOW LET'S DO THIS!"

_Can you feel life, moving through your mind?_

_Looks like it came back for more! Yeah, yeah, yeah!_

_Can you feel time slipping down your spine?_

_You try and try to ignore! Yeah!_

"Espio!" "Amy!" "Let's do it!" They strike! "THREE STAR STRIKE!" "EMERALD BLAZE!" Equals………… "EMERALD BLAZE STAR STRIKE!" 'BOOOOMMM!' Right on Catalyst's left shoulder! _"AAAAGGGHH! WHAT! WHAT IS HAPPENING?"_

_But you can hardly swallow,_

_Your fears and pain…_

_And you can't help by follow,_

_And puts you right back where you came!_

"Vector!" "Tails!" "Let's go!" Their turn! "ELECTRIC SLASH!" "METAL ROCKETS!" Makes………… "ELECTRIC ROCKETS!" 'BAAAAMMM!' Struck right on his right leg! _"AAAARRGGHH! NO! THIS CAN'T BE HAPPENING! IT"S IMPOSSIBLE!"_

_Live and learn! Hanging on the edge of tomorrow!_

_Live and learn! From the works of yesterday!_

_Live and learn! If you beg or if you borrow!_

_Live and learn! You may never find your way!_

"Rouge!" "Knuckles!" "Our turn!" Check it out! "DRAGON FIST!" "LUNAR PLASMA!" Combines to………… "FIST OF THE LUNAR DRAGON!" "P-WHAAAAAAAMMMMM!" _"NOOOO! STOP IT! YOU CAN'T DEFEAT ME! I AM INVINCIBLE!"_

_Can you feel life, tangle you up inside?_

_And, now you're face down on the floor!_

"Espio!" "Tails!" We're up!" Look! "STRIKE OF THE TEN STARS!" "SUPERSONIC SABER!" That is…………… "SUPERSONIC STARS!" 'WHAM!' 'BOOOOOM!' 'BAAAAAAMMM!' Right on the chest! _"YAAAARRRRGGHH! HOW? HOW CAN THEIR POWERS HAVE INCREASED SO EXPONENTIALLY? IT DOESN'T MAKE SENSE!"_

_But you can't save your sorrow,_

_You've paid in trade…_

_And you can't help but follow,_

_And puts you right back where you came!_

"Rouge!" "Amy!" "Girl time!" Watch! "CRIMSON WHIP!" "RADIANCE ENERGY!" Create………… "WHIP OF CRIMSON RADIANT!" 'WHA-PSSSSSHHHH!" _"AAAAARRGGH! YOU FOOLS! I WON'T LET YOU WEAKLINGS DEFEAT ME! NOW DIE!... "PLASMA BOMB!"_

_Live and learn! Hanging on the edge of tomorrow!_

_Live and learn! From the works of yesterday!_

_Live and learn! If you beg or if you borrow!_

_Live and learn! You may never find your way!_

"We gotta deflect that attack!" "Tails!" "Knuckles!" "Sonic!" Let's do it to it!" "SUPERSONIC SABER!" "SPECTRE SWORD!" "SPEAR ASSAULT!" ………… "RAPIER OF THE THREE KINGS!" 'SLASH!' Their combined attack worked like a giant bat, and sent the bomb right back at you know who! "BOOOOOOOOOOOOOMMMMMMMM!" The force of the explosion was throwing off Catalyst's balance, as he stumbled backward a few steps. _"AAAAAAAAAAARRRRGGGHH!"_ Now he had quite an enraged expression on his face! _"NO! IT'S IMPOSSIBLE! THEY'RE ACTUALLY WEAKENING ME! NOOOOO! I WON'T STAND FOR THIS! THE UNIVERSE IS MINE!"_

Sonic suddenly spotted a faint light glowing at the top of Catalyst's chest. "Guys, look!" "What is it, Sonic?" Amy asked. "That light on his chest! It glowed every time we struck him! It must be his weak point!" "I see it!" Knuckles pointed out!" Sonic got an idea. "Everyone! This is it! Our chance to take him down for good! Follow my lead!" Everyone watched as Sonic sprang into action. He first leaped into the air, and pointed his staff at Catalyst's face. _"WHAT? WHAT ARE YOU DOING!"_ "Hey big man! Say cheese! ORB-O-THUNDER!" 'BZZZZZZTTT!' 'BLAST!' Right in the eyes! _"AAAAAAAAGGGHH! WHY YOU LITTLE! HOW DARE YOU!"_ Everybody caught on. He was distracted! "Now follow me!" Sonic ordered. "RIGHT!" Suddenly, everybody floated high in the air, and positioned themselves in a star shaped formation! Their armor and outfits began to glow brightly with their seven colored auras! They all began to amplify their most powerful attacks! "Come one guys! LET'S DO IT TO IT! ANCIENT SPIRITS UNITE!" "STRIKE OF THE TEN STARS!" "CELESTIAL SPIRITS!" "ELECTRON JOUST!" "GLOBAL APOCALYPSE!" "SPECTRE SWORD!" "SUPERSONIC SABER!" "SHINING AURORA STRIKE!"

_There's a face searching far, so far and wide,_

_There's a place where you dreamed you'd never find,_

_Hold on to what if…_

_Hold on to what if…_

Down below, Necronos snapped out of his shock phase, and gazed at his friends up above. "Warriors……My friends……I am so proud of you all………You can do it……………SAVE EVERYONE!" Catalyst eyes suddenly healed. "WHERE ARE YOU? SHOW YOURSELVES!" Then he gazed in shock, of the gigantic glowing star-shaped light floating right before him! "WHAT THE? WHAT'S HAPPENING!" Sonic spoke up. "CATALYST! This is the best part of any battle between good and evil! What we heroes like to call, A FINAL BLOW!" "NOOOOOOOOOOOO! YOU CAN'T! STAY BACK!" "EVERYBODY READY?" "YEEEAAAAHHHH!" "THEN LET'S GO! ALL TOGETHER!"………………………………………… "**_CELESTIAL STAR!_**"

_Live and learn! Hanging on the edge of tomorrow!_

_Live and learn! From the works of yesterday!_

_Live and learn! If you beg or if you borrow!_

_Live and learn! You may never find your way!_

'FLAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAASSSSSSSSSSSSSSSHHHH!'

_"AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAGGGGGGGGGGHHHHHHHHHH!"_

"YOU'RE FINISHED!"

_"NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!"_

_Live and learn! Hanging on the edge of tomorrow!_

_Live and learn! From the works of yesterday!_

_Live and learn! If you beg or if you borrow!_

_Live and learn! You may never find your waaaaaaaay!_

When the attack's force slowly faded, Sonic and the others floated back onto the ground. They looked up in the sky, and were amazed! The dark energy surrounding Mobius was finally gone! "Alright! We did it!" Vector cheered. But Sonic still looked focused. And everyone saw why. Catalyst was still there! But he didn't look so menacing anymore. He was now only twice as big as Vector. _"AAAARRRGGHH! WHY? THIS CAN'T BE TRUE! HOW COULD YOU ALL HAVE DEFEATED ME!"_ "Simple," Sonic began. "Because you villains always forget the main rule of good verses evil. Good ALWAYS wins!" _"YOU'RE WRONG! EVIL IS MEANT TO EXIST! I AM MEANT TO EXIST! I AM THE INEVITABLE FATE OF THE UNIVERSE!"_ Sonic pointed his staff one last time. "No………YOU'RE GONE!" 'STAB!' _"AAAAAAAAAARRRRGGGGHHHH!"..._ (my favorite part) ……… _"NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO…………………"_

And with one final flash, Catalyst was gone! And all that remained, lying on the ground in front of everyone, was the Cataclysmic Emerald! Sonic turned and faced his friends. They had all returned to normal! Their warrior outfits were gone. But that didn't stop him from feeling victorious! "We did it guys. For real, this time! We have won!" "ALRIIIIIIGHT!"

_Live and learn……Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah!_

_Live and learn……Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah!_ (fin)

Just then out of nowhere, Necronos began to walk through the gang, and picked up the emerald. He stared at it for a few seconds, then sighed with relief. "It's finally over. Catalyst's presence has completely vanished." He turned around, and faced the gang. "Thank you all, everyone. I had almost given up hope of victory. And you helped keep it alive. The fate of you worlds could never have been in safer hands than yours." Sonic approached him. "Our thanks should go to you, Necro! If it wasn't for you, we wouldn't have been given those powers to defeat him in the first place! You deserve as much credit as we do!" Everyone agreed. "He's absolutely right!" said Tails. "You're a hero too!" said Knuckles. "You're also one of us now!" said Amy. The others smiled and nodded in agreement. A small tear formed under Necronos' eye. "Thank you so much, my friends. Your words me so much to me. You all should feel very proud of yourselves. Thanks to your determination, and will to never give up, your planets are at peace once again and your friends and family are safe." He paused for a moment. "And, unfortunately for now, I must say goodbye." Everyone's happy expressions suddenly turned into shocked ones. "What? What do you mean goodbye?" Rouge questioned. "I still have one last mission to fulfill," he answered. "I must hide this gem once more. And this time, in a place no one will ever find it and unlock it ever again." "But, does that mean you're going to leave us?" Amy asked sadly. "I just said you were one of us now!" She began to form tears like Rouge. "It's for the good of your worlds, my friends. Please try to understand that." "Wait!" Knuckles spoke up. "What if I just guard it like I did when the Master Emerald was still around! You can stay, and no one will get past me!" "You deserve to stay with us!" Espio said. "I agree with everything you guys said! Come on, bro!" said Vector. "Sonic! Don't you have anything to say?" Tails asked sadly. "I do………Necro. What the others said is true. You are like a member of our team now. And we would all like for you to stay." He paused. "But, if you say you must go, then go ahead." "WHAT?" the others shouted! "If you truly believe it's for the best of our home, I say save us from that cursed crystal for good!" Everyone looked so disappointed, but deep down they all did realize that it was for the best. Necronos began to fly into the air, and one last tear fell from him. "Don't worry my friends. As soon as the Cataclysmic Emerald is hidden from existence once more, you can guarantee, I shall return someday!" Vector, Espio, Rouge, and Knuckles smiled at that. Tails and Amy stopped crying after hearing that too. He spoke again. "Now's the time I finish the mission I started all those years ago…" Sonic's eyes widened! "All those years ago? Wait! It couldn't be! Necro, are you the……?" "FAREWELL, MY FRIENDS! I SHALL RETURN SOMEDAY! UNTIL THEN…SEE YA……………" And everyone waved goodbye as their friend slowly disappeared into the sky………

* * *

During the next few hours, Sonic and the gang returned to Mobius, where all the global destruction that had been tearing it apart for so long was finally gone for good. Espio and Vector went back to their agency and filled Charmy in on why he was left with the piling bills. Rouge returned to Station Square and gave her report to the president. She received the special bonus she was hoping for, and felt VERY satisfied. Knuckles went back to Echidnaopolis and met up with Julie-Su. He explained why he got zapped away from their date. She understood and easily forgave him. They spent the rest of that afternoon making up for their unfinished evening. Amy arrived at her apartment in Knothole City and told Cream everything as well. She couldn't stop talking about how cute she looked in her Dark Magician Girl outfit (y'know, from Yu-Gi-Oh). Tails came back and decided to write about their great adventure on one of his computers and save it to be chronicled for future generations. After all, it's not everyday a bunch of pre-teens save the world from a 6000 year old demon! And as for Sonic, he was just happy to return home after such a long and very exhausting quest. It felt nice to see the planet looking so safe, calm, and at peace again. "And as long as me and my pals are around, it will forever stay that way!"

That evening at dusk, the gang went to Blue Moonlight to celebrate their victory! All of their friends were there: Sally, Mina, Rotor, Bunnie, Antoine, Dulcy, Mighty, Shadow (he recovered after being possessed in ch.4), Geoffrey, Hershey, Fiona, Gamma, Omega, and all the rest of them! They were all talking about their adventure. "No way! You were dressed like a knight?" Mighty asked Vector. "Is that so hard to believe? (Don't answer that!)" he said back. Shadow was with Rouge. "You serious? I was really acting more sinister than I usually look?" "Yeah, pretty much. Next time, don't go snooping around in undiscovered caverns, ok?" "Yeah, good point. Say, I didn't hurt you guys too bad, did I?" "Heh, heh, heh……Would you believe Tails ended up kickin' you butt?" "You should've seen me, Julie! I looked just like my grandfather Spectre!" "You mean, you looked creepier that everyone else?" she joked. "I heard that…!" Spectre called from the other side of the room. Knuckles and Julie just snickered. Amy, Cream, Tails, and Sonic were all at one table. "Are you sure you're all ok?" Cream asked worriedly. "We're all fine," Tails answered. "Though I will admit, those spirits sure knew how to put up a tough fight!" "Boy do I know it!" Amy began. "I can't believe I had to destroy an entire Zone to beat my opponent!" Sonic looked surprised. "You-you destroyed an entire Zone!" "That's right, Sonic. So, you gonna start being nicer to me for now on?" Sonic answered proudly, "Just do this for me, Ames. If I ever come close to getting on your bad side, stop me right there!" Everybody laughed.

Finally the club band arrived, and were ready to start the celebration of the evening. Sonic got up on stage, and everyone applauded. "Thank you, everybody! But tonight, I want you all to start by giving a big hand to my six friends down there among you. They all are the heroes of the latest defeat of one of this world's greatest evils! Give it up for 'em!" The gang stood up, and bowed for their ovation. Sonic then turned everyone to look at the bright colored sunset out the window, on the distant horizon. "And tonight ladies and gentlemen. I'd like to perform one of my favorite songs, for it's title I believe describes all of us here tonight." He paused, and gazed at the fading lights in the sky. "This is for you, Necro." Amy smiled and whipped away a small tear. And so Sonic began. And to everyone else, there was no better way to begin celebrating such a victory than with a tribute to the great accomplishment they had done. And as they all knew, there will always be an even greater evil to replace the one they've just vanquished someday in the future. But with their teamwork, friendship, and persistence for peace, Mobius and Mobius Z will always be in safe hands.

Rest easy heroes…………And well done………

_No I never meant, to hold you back,_

_I never meant to turn away,_

_Please forgive me…_

_No I never meant, to break your heart,_

_I'd give my last breath before I do!_

_Please forgive me…_

_No I never meant, to hold you down!_

_I never meant to break your heart!_

_……Somehow, somehow, we are SURVIVORS!"_

_No I never meant to hold you back,_

_I never meant to turn away,_

_Here we are, standing here,_

_Survivors in the night…_

_Survivors in the night…_

_No I never meant to break your heart,_

_I'll always be here for you,_

_Here's my word, take my hand,_

_Survivors in the night…_

_Survivors in the night…_

_Survivors, in the night…_

_No I never meant to let you down,_

_I'd give my last breath before I do,_

_All I ever wanted was to be right here,_

_Survivors in the night…_

_Survivors in the night!_

_Survivors, in the night!_

_When all is said and done,_

_We'll find a way,_

_To put all this behind us,_

_We'll find some way._

_'Cause you know, that I won't be leaving…_

_Yes I'm here, and I won't be leaving…_

_No I never meant to cause you pain,_

_No I never meant to hurt you,_

_All I want to do now is to try my best!_

_Survivors in the night…_

_We are survivors in the night!_

_When all is said and done,_

_We'll find someday,_

_We can forget all this,_

_Somehow, some way._

_And as long as I'm here,_

_There'll be no worries anymore,_

_And all these promises I'm making now,_

_I'll hold each day!_

_So don't ever, don't ever, don't forget,_

_That I never, never meant to break your heart!_

_All I ever wanted was to stand beside you!_

_Survivors in the night!_

_We are survivors in the night!_

_We are survivors!_

_Yes we are…(survivors…)_

_Oh, yes we are…(survivors…)_

_Survivors! (survivors…)_

_Yes we are survivors! (survivors…)_

_Survive…(survivors…)_

_Please forgive me, please for give me…_

_(survivors…) Oh, yes we are…_

_We are survivors! (survivors…)_

_Yes we are survivors…(survivors…)_

_(survivors…) Please forgive me, please forgive me,_

_Please forgive me, yeah! (survivors…)_

_Survivors…Yes we are, survivors…Yes we are…_

_Survivors………………………………………………_

* * *

And there you all have it! The final chapter of my very first posted story is finally over. Hope you enjoyed reading it! It was quite a handful, but definitely worth it. And so, I finish! Goodbye, for now... R&R!

(A/N: "Live And Learn" from the SA2 soundtrack, and "Survivors" sung by Phil Collins)

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_"I…………will…………have…………my revenge…………"_


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